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Our   Little   Dutch   Cousin 


THE 

Little  Cousin  Series 

(trade  mark) 

Each  volume  illustrated  with  six  or  more  full-page  plates  in 

tint.     Cloth,  i2mo,  with  decorative  cover, 

per  volume,  60  cents 

LIST   OF   TITLES 

By  Mary  Hazelton  Wade 

(unless  otherwise  indicated) 


Our  Little  African  Cousin 
Our  Little  Alaskan  Cousin 

By  Mary  F.  Nixon-Roulet 

Our  Little  Arabian  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McManus 

Our  Little  Armenian  Cousin 
Our  Little  Australian  Cousin 

By  Mary  F.  Nixon-Roulet 
Our  Little  Brazilian  Cousin 

By  Mary  F.  Nixon-Roulet 

Our  Little  Brown  Cousin 
Our  Little  Canadian  Cousin 

By  Elizabeth  R.  MacDonald 

Our  Little  Chinese  Cousin 

By  Isaac  Taylor  Headland 

Our  Little  Cuban  Cousin 
Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McManus 

Our  Little  Egyptian  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McManus 

Our  Little  English  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McManus 

Our  Little  Eskimo  Cousin 
Our  Little  French  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McManus 
Our  Little  German  Cousin 
Our  Little  Greek  Cousin 

By  Mary  F.  Nixon-Roulet 


Our  Little  Hawaiian  Cousin 
Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McManus 

Our  Little  Indian  Cousin 
Our  Little  Irish  Cousin 
Our  Little  Italian  Cousin 
Our  Little  Japanese  Cousin 
Our  Little  Jewish  Cousin 
Our  Little  Korean  Cousin 

By  H.  Lee  M.  Pike 

Our  Little  Mexican  Cousin 

By  Edward  C.  Butler 

Our  Little  Norwegian  Cousin 
Our  Little  Panama  Cousin 

By  H.  Lee  M.  Pike 

Our  Little  Philippine  Cousin 
Our  Little  Porto  Rican  Cousin 
Our  Little  Russian  Cousin 
Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McManus 

Our  Little  Siamese  Cousin 
Our  Little  Spanish  Cousin 

By  Mary  F.  Nixon-Roulet 

Our  Little  Swedish  Cousin 

By  Claire  M.  Coburn 

Our  Little  Swiss  Cousin 
Our  Little  Turkish  Cousin 


L.  C.   PAGE    £r    COMPANY 

New  England  Building,  Boston,  Mass. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://www.archive.org/details/ourlittledutchcoOOmcma 


PIETER    AND    WILHELMINA 


*  *§> 

*  Our  Little  Dutch  * 

*  .  * 

|  Cousin  $ 

♦ * 

* — * 

*  By  * 

*  Blanche  McManus  4 

*  4 

^^    Author  of    "  Our  Little   English   Cousin,"    "  Our  Little    ^* 
French  Cousin,"  "  Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin,"  etc. 

Illustrated  by  2 

^  The  Author  a 

* * 

T*  Pi  1^1  IS  ** 

* * 

* * 

*  Boston  4* 

*  4 

^  L.  C.   Page  df  Company  ^ 

4*  PUBLISHERS  ^r 

^4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*  4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4f*?Nf 


Copyright,  igob 
By  L.  C.  Page  &  Company 

(incorporated) 


All  rights  reserved 


THE  LITTLE  COUSIN   SERIES 

{Trade  Mark) 


Fifth  Impression,  July,  1909 


Preface 


Our  little  Dutch  cousins  have  much  in 
common  with  little  American  cousins,  not  so 
much  perhaps  with  respect  to  present-day  in- 
stitutions and  manners  and  customs,  as  with 
the  survivals  and  traditions  of  other  days,  when 
the  Dutch  played  so  important  a  part  in  the 
founding  of  the  new  America. 

It  was  from  Holland,  too,  from  the  little 
port  of  Delfshaven,  that  the  Pilgrim  Fathers 
first  set  sail  for  the  New  World,  and  by  this 
fact  alone  Holland  and  America  are  bound  to- 
gether by  another  very  strong  link,  though  this 
time  it  was  of  English  forging. 

No  European  country,  save  England,  has 
the  interest  for  the  American  reader  or  trav- 


VI 


Preface 


eller  that  has  "  the  little  land  of  dikes  and  wind- 
mills," and  there  are  many  young  Americans 
already  familiar  with  the  ways  of  their  cousins 
from  over  the  seas  from  the  very  fact  that  so 
many  of  them  come  to  Holland  to  visit  its 
fine  picture-galleries,  its  famous  and  historic 
buildings,  its  tulip-gardens,  and  its  picturesque 
streets  and  canals,  which  make  it  a  paradise  for 
artists. 

Our  little  Dutch  cousins  mingle  gladly  with 
their  little  American  cousins,  and  the  ties  that 
bind  make  a  bond  which  is,  and  always  has 
been,  inseverable. 


Contents 


I.  PlETER    AND    WlLHELMINA 

II.  The  American  Cousin  . 

III.  The  Land  of  Dikes  and  Windmills 

IV.  The  Kermis 

V.  The  Bicycle  Ride  .... 

VI.  Where  the  Cheeses  Come  from 


23 
34 
53 
63 
81 


List  of  Illustrations 


PAGE 

Pieter  and  Wilhelmina      ....    Frontispiece 

"'How  old  is  Cousin  Theodore,  mother?'  asked 
Wilhelmina" 27 

"'I'm    going    to    snap-shot    one    of    them    with 
my  camera  '  " 48 

At  the  Kermis 61 

On  the  Road  to  Delfshaven 66 

"The  children  stood  in  the  bows"        .        .        .98 


Map  <f  f/OLLJArz^Sm 

JS6oL0l/7yj!)/aCQS    ' 

ttientt'onect  in 
Ow/ktfe  %)ufc6  Co usn 


Our  Little   Dutch   Cousin 

CHAPTER   I. 

PIETER    AND    WILHELMINA 

What  do  you  think  of  a  country  where 
you  can  pick  up  sugar-plums  along  the  road  ? 
Well,  this  was  just  what  Pieter  and  Wilhel- 
mina  were  going  to  do  as,  hand  in  hand,  they 
flew  up  the  road  as  fast  as  their  little  wooden 
shoes  would  let  them,  to  meet  a  carriage  which 
was  rapidly  approaching.  Behind  the  carriage 
ran  a  crowd  of  children,  laughing  and  tumbling 
over  each  other. 

"  Oh  !  they  are  throwing  the  c  suikers  '  now  ; 
run  faster,  Wilhelmina,"  panted  Pieter ;  and, 
sure  enough,  as  the  carriage  went  by,  a  showei 


2  Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

of  candies  fell  all  about  them.  One  piece 
dropped  right  in  Wilhelmina's  mouth,  which 
of  course  was  open,  because  she  had  been  run- 
ning so  hard.  But  there  was  no  time  to  laugh, 
as  the  children  were  all  scrambling  hard  to 
pick  up  the  sweets.  Then  they  tried  to  catch 
up  with  the  carriage  again,  but  it  was  nearly 
out  of  sight  by  this  time,  and  so  one  by  one 
the  young  folk  stopped  to  count  up  their 
gains,  and  compare  them  with  one  another. 

This  was  a  wedding-party  returning  from 
church.  In  the  carriage  sat  the  bride  and 
groom.  The  carriage  sat  high  up  on  its  two 
great  wheels,  and  was  gaudily  painted  and  gaily 
decked  with  flowers  and  ribbons. 

Pieter  and  Wilhelmina  had  been  on  the 
lookout  for  this  bridal  party  with  more  than 
usual  interest,  for  two  relatives  of  the  bride 
had  come  to  their  mother  a  few  days  before  to 
invite  her  to  the  wedding  ceremony,  and  the 
children  thought  these  young  men  had  looked 


Pieter  and  Wilhelmina  3 

very  fine  in  their  best  clothes,  with  flowers 
stuck  in  the  sides  of  their  caps. 

The  bride  had  her  arms  full  of  candies,  and, 
as  was  the  custom,  she  threw  them  out  to  the 
children  as  they  drove  along.  The  little  Dutch 
children  call  these  candies  "  suikers."  As  you 
may  imagine,  this  is  a  great  treat  for  them, 
and  accordingly  the  children  of  Holland  take 
more  of  an  interest  in  weddings  than  do  the 
children  of  other  countries. 

"  Put  all  the  c  suikers  '  in  my  apron,  Pieter," 
said  Wilhelmina,  "  and  let  us  go  and  show 
them  to  the  mother/'  and  the  children  quickly 
ran  back  home. 

Wilhelmina  and  Pieter  were  twins,  so  it 
does  not  matter  whether  we  say  Wilhelmina 
or  Pieter  first,  and  they  looked  so  much  alike 
that  when  they  stood  together  in  the  high 
grass  by  the  side  of  the  canal  which  ran  in 
front  of  their  home,  it  was  hard  to  tell  one 
from  the  other  if  it  had  not  been  for  Pieter*  s  cap. 


4  Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

They  both  had  round,  rosy  faces,  and  round, 
blue  eyes,  and  yellow  hair,  only  you  would  not 
know  that  Wilhelmina  had  any  hair  at  all,  for 
it  was  completely  hidden  by  her  cap.  They 
both  wore  little  wooden  shoes,  and  it  was  a 
marvel  how  fast  they  could  run  in  them,  for 
they  seem  to  be  on  the  point  of  dropping  off 
most  of  the  time,  but,  strange  to  say,  they 
never  do. 

Holland  is  the  dearest  little  wee  country  in 
the  world.  Uncle  Sam  could  put  it  in  his  vest 
pocket.  It  looks  like  a  country  just  made  to 
play  in.  Its  houses  are  so  small  and  trim,  all 
set  about  with  neat  little  gardens  and  trees, 
which  look  as  if  they  had  been  cut  out  of 
wood,  like  the  trees  in  the  "  Noah's  arks." 
There  are  little  -canals  and  little  bridges  every- 
where, and  little  towns  scattered  here  and  there 
all  over  the  broad,  flat  country.  You  could 
go  to  all  of  the  principal  cities  of  this  little  land 
in  one  day,  and  you  can  stand  in  one  of  the 


Pieter  and  Wilhelmina  5 

church  towers  and  see  over  half  the  country  at 
a  glance.  The  only  things  that  look  big  are 
the  windmills. 

What  do  you  think  of  a  garden  gate  without 
any  fence  ?  But  this  is  just  the  sort  of  a  gate 
that  the  twins  entered  when  they  arrived  home. 
Instead  of  a  fence  there  was  a  small  canal  which 
divided  the  garden  from  the  road,  and  of  course 
the  gate  was  in  the  middle  of  a  small  bridge, 
otherwise  how  could  they  have  got  across  the 
canal  ? 

At  the  front  door  they  both  left  their  shoes 
on  the  steps  outside,  for  Dutch  people  never 
think  of  bringing  their  dirty  shoes  into  the 
house.  Then  they  opened  only  half  of  the 
front  door  and  went  in.  Many  Dutch  doors  are 
made  in  two  parts,  the  upper  half  remaining 
open  most  of  the  time,  like  a  window,  while 
the  lower  half  is  closed  like  an  ordinary  door. 

"  Oh,  mamma,  see  what  a  lot  of  c  suikers  * 
the  bride  threw  to  us,"  said  Wilhelmina,  run- 


6  Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

ning  up  to  Mevrouw  Joost,  who  was  bustling 
about  the  china  cupboard  in  the  living-room. 

"  And  she  was  such  a  pretty  bride,  too,  with 
a  lovely  dress ;  and  there  were  flowers  twined 
all  about  the  carriage,  and  a  wreath  on  the 
horse's  head,  and  long  streamers  of  white  rib- 
bon wound  around  the  whip,"  she  continued 
breathlessly. 

"  And  we  got  more  c  suikers  '  than  any  one 
else,"  put  in  Pieter. 

"  Yes,  it  was  a  gay  party.  I  saw  them  pass 
by  the  house,"  said  Mevrouw  Joost,  smilingly, 
as  she  ate  a  "  suiker." 

"  Baby  Jan  must  have  one  too,"  said  Wil- 
helmina,  as  she  went  over  to  play  with  the 
baby  who  was  kicking  and  crowing  in  his  great 
carved  cradle  near  the  window.  Jan  was  the 
household  pet,  and  there  had  been  a  great  cele- 
bration when  he  was  a  week  old. 

All  the  friends  of  the  Joost  family  were  in- 
vited to  come  and  see  the  baby,  a   red  pin- 


Pieter  and  Wilhelmina  7 

cushion  having  been  hung  out  beside  the  front 
door  to  let  everybody  know  that  there  was  a  new 
baby  boy  within.  When  the  guests  arrived, 
they  were  given  rusks  to  eat,  a  kind  of  sweet 
bread,  covered  with  aniseed  and  sugar,  called 
"  muisjes,"  which  really  means  "  mice."  Be- 
fore, when  the  friends  had  come  to  pay  their 
respects  to  Wilhelmina  and  Pieter,  there  had 
been  two  kinds  of  "muisjes."  One  had  a  sort 
of  smooth  white  icing  on  the  top,  and  that  was 
Wilhelmina's,  while  Pieter's  rusks  had  lumps 
of  sugar  sticking  up  all  over  them. 

The  Dutch  are  the  neatest  people  in  the 
world.  They  are  always  washing  and  rubbing 
and  dusting  things,  and  one  could  no  more  find 
a  spider's  web  in  Mevrouw  Joost's  home  than 
they  could  a  white  elephant. 

The  floor  of  the  living-room  was  made  of 
tiny  red  bricks,  waxed  and  polished  until  they 
shone  like  glass.  There  was  much  heavy  oak 
furniture,  beautifully  carved  ;  a  big  round  table 


8  Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

stood  in  the  centre,  and  on  one  side  was  a  great 
dresser  or  sideboard.  The  chairs  were  solid 
and  big,  with  high  backs  and  straw  seats,  and 
some  of  them  were  painted  dark  green,  with 
curious  little  pictures  and  decorations  also 
painted  on  them. 

One  end  of  the  square  room  was  filled  by 
what  looked  like  two  big  cupboards  with  heavy 
green  curtains  hanging  in  front  of  them,  but 
one  of  the  curtains  was  drawn  partly  back  and 
one  could  see  that  they  were  two  great  beds 
instead,  built  into  the  wall  just  like  cupboards. 
These  were  the  "  show-beds,"  and  were  not  for 
constant  use,  but  mostly  for  ornament. 

Mevrouw  Joost  was  very  proud  of  these 
beds  and  kept  them  always  made  up  with  her 
very  finest  linen,  trimmed  with  rich  lace,  and  her 
most  brilliantly  coloured  embroidered  cover- 
lids, the  whole  being  piled  so  high  that  the 
beds  nearly  reached  the  ceiling.  There  was 
barely  enough  room  on  top  for  the  two  enor- 


Pieter  and  Wilhelmina  9 

mous  eider-down  pillows,  with  gay  covers  and 
lace  ruffles,  which  lay  on  each  of  the  beds  and 
completed  their  furnishings. 

Some  Dutch  houses  have  a  separate  room  for 
these  "  show-beds,"  which  we  should  call  a  par- 
lour, but  Mevrouw  Joost  had  her  "  show-beds  " 
where  she  could  enjoy  their  magnificence  every 
day. 

She  had  her  "  show-room,"  too,  but  kept  it 
most  beautifully  and  tightly  closed  up,  so  that 
not  a  ray  of  light  or  a  speck  of  dirt  could  come 
in,  for  it  was  only  used  on  some  great  occasion. 

Another  side  of  the  living-room  was  nearly 
filled  by  the  huge  fireplace,  covered  with  square, 
blue  Delft  tiles,  on  each  of  which  was  a  pic- 
ture which  told  a  story  from  the  Bible.  The 
ceiling  was  crossed  with  great  beams  of  wood, 
and  a  wainscoting  of  wood  went  all  around 
the  room. 

On  the  sideboard,  on  the  shelves  above  the 
beds,  and  over  the  mantel  were  fine  pieces  of 


io        Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

rare  old  Delft  china,  which  is  a  beautiful  deep 
blue.  It  is  very  rare  now,  and  much  prized 
by  the  Dutch  Mevrouws.  There  was  also  a 
quantity  of  copper  and  brass  jugs  and  pewter 
platters,  while  by  the  fireplace  hung  a  big  brass 
warming-pan,  which  is  a  great  pan  with  a  cover 
and  a  long  handle.  On  a  cold  and  damp  win- 
ter's night  Mevrouw  Joost  filled  it  with 
red-hot  coals,  and  warmed  the  household 
beds  by  slipping  it  in  and  out  between  the 
sheets. 

There  were  spotless  white  curtains  at  the 
tiny  windows,  and  everything  shone  under  the 
housewife's  brisk  rubbings. 

Back  of  the  sitting-room  was  the  kitchen, 
with  another  big  fireplace,  in  which  was  set 
the  cooking-stove.  Around  the  walls  were 
many  bright  copper  pans  and  pots  of  all 
kinds. 

There  were  big  brass  jugs  to  hold  milk,  and 
kegs    with    brass    hoops    in   which    they  stow 


Pieter  and  Wilhelmina  1 1 

away  their  butter.  The  Dutch  are  so  fond  of 
polishing  things  that  they  put  brass  on  every- 
thing, it  would  seem,  just  for  the  joy  of  rub- 
bing it  afterward. 

Many  of  the  commoner  things  were  made 
beautiful  as  well.  The  knife-handles  were 
carved,  and  on  many  of  the  brass  bowls  and 
platters  were  graceful  patterns.  One  would 
see  a  little  cow  carved  on  the  big  wooden 
butter-spoon,  or  a  tiny  windmill  on  the  handle 
of  a  fork,  while  the  great  churn  that  stood  in 
the  corner  of  the  kitchen  had  gay  pictures 
painted  upon  it.  From  this  you  may  judge 
what  a  pleasant  and  attractive  room  Mevrouw 
Joost's  kitchen  was. 

"  Why  are  you  putting  out  all  the  best 
china  and  the  pretty  silver  spoons,  mother  ?  " 
asked  Wilhelmina. 

(f  The  father  is  showing  a  visitor  through 
the  tulip-gardens.  It  is  the  great  merchant, 
Mynheer   Van    der   Veer,    from    Amsterdam. 


12        Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

He  has  come  to  buy  some  of  the  choice  plants, 
for  he  says  truly  there  are  no  tulips  in  all 
Holland  as  fine  as  ours,"  and  the  good  lady 
drew  herself  up  with  a  pardonable  pride,  as 
she  polished  the  big  silver  coffee-pot,  which 
already  shone  so  Wilhelmina  might  see  her 
face  in  it  like  a  mirror. 

"Can  I  help  you,  mother?"  asked  Wilhel- 
mina. She  would  have  liked  nothing  better 
than  to  handle  the  dainty  cups  and  saucers, 
but  she  knew  well  that  her  mother  would  not 
trust  this  rare  old  china  to  any  hands  but  her 
own,  for  these  cups  and  saucers  had  been 
handed  down  through  many  generations  of 
her  family,  as  had  the  quaint  silver  spoons 
with  the  long  twisted  handles,  at  the  end  of 
which  were  little  windmills,  ships,  lions,  and 
the  like,  all  in  silver. 

"  No,  no,  little  one,  you  are  only  in  the 
way ;  go  out  into  the  garden  and  tell  your 
father  not  to  delay  too  long  or  our  guest  will 


Pieter  and  Wilhelmina  13 

drink  cold  coffee,"  said  Mevrouw,  bustling 
about  more  than  ever. 

Wilhelmina  was  eager  enough  to  see  the 
great  Mynheer,  so  she  joined  Pieter,  who  had 
already  slipped  out,  and  together  they  went 
toward  the  bulb-gardens,  where  Mynheer  and 
their  father  were  looking  over  the  wonderful 
tulips. 

Pieter  and  Wilhelmina  lived  in  a  quaint 
little  house  of  one  story  only,  built  of  very 
small  red  brick,  with  a  roof  of  bright  red  tiles. 
The  window-frames  were  painted  white,  and 
the  window-blinds  a  bright  blue,  while  the 
front  door  was  bright  green.  There  was  a  little 
garden  in  front,  and  the  paths  all  followed 
tiny  canals,  which  were  spanned  here  and 
there  by  small  bridges.  In  one  corner  was  a 
pond,  on  which  floated  little  toy  ducks  and 
fish,  and  it  was  great  fun  for  the  children  to 
wind  up  the  clockwork  inside  of  these  curious 
toys,  and  watch  them  move  about  as  if  they 


14       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

were  alive.  But  on  this  afternoon  the  twins 
were  thinking  of  other  things,  and  kept  on  to 
the  bulb-gardens.  Here  was  a  lovely  sight, 
—  acres  and  acres  of  nothing  but  tulips  of  all 
colours,  and  hyacinths,  and  other  bulbs  which 
Mynheer  Joost  grew  to  send  to  the  big  flower 
markets  of  Holland  and  other  countries  as 
well ;  for,  as  Mevrouw  Joost  had  said,  their 
tulips  were  famous  the  world  over.  Mynheer 
Joost  took  great  pains  with  his  bulbs,  and  was 
able  to  grow  many  varieties  which  could  not 
be  obtained  elsewhere. 

The  tulip  is  really  the  national  flower  of 
Holland,  so  the  Dutch  (as  the  people  of 
Holland  are  called)  are  very  fond  of  them, 
and  you  see  more  beautiful  varieties  here  than 
anywhere  else.  Every  Dutchman  plants  tulips 
in  his  garden,  and  there  is  a  great  rivalry  be- 
tween neighbours  as  to  who  can  produce  the 
most  startling  varieties  in  size  and  colour. 

Pieter  and  Wilhelmina  were  never  tired  of 


Pieter  and  Wilhelmina  15 

hearing  their  father  tell  of  the  time  all  Holland 
went  almost  crazy  over  tulips.  This  was  nearly 
three  hundred  years  ago,  after  the  tulip  had  just 
been  brought  to  Holland,  and  was  a  much 
rarer  flower  than  it  is  to-day.  It  got  to  be 
the  fashion  for  every  one  to  raise  tulips,  and 
they  sold  for  large  sums  of  money.  Several 
thousands  of  "guldens"  (a  "gulden"  is  the 
chief  Dutch  coin)  were  paid  for  a  single  bulb. 
People  sold  their  houses  and  lands  to  buy 
tulips,  which  they  were  able  to  sell  again  at  a 
great  profit.  Everybody  went  wild  over  these 
beautiful  flowers,  rich  and  poor  alike,  men, 
women,  and  children.  Everybody  bought 
and  sold  tulips,  and  nobody  thought  or  talked 
about  anything  but  the  price  of  tulips.  At 
last  the  Dutch  government  put  a  stop  to  this 
nonsense,  and  down  tumbled  the  prices  of 
tulips. 

In   spite  of  this,  the  Dutch    love    for    the 
flower  still  continued,  and  to-day  one  may  see 


16       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

these  great  fields  of  tulips  and  hyacinths  and 
other  bulb-plants  covering  miles  and  miles  of 
the  surface  of  Holland,  just  as  do  wheat-fields 
in  other  lands. 

There  is  a  large  and  continually  growing 
trade  in  these  plants  going  on  all  over  Hol- 
land, and  Mynheer  Joost  was  always  able  to 
sell  his  plants  for  as  big  a  price  as  any  others 
in  the  market.  The  principal  tulip-gardens 
are  in  the  vicinities  of  the  cities  of  Leyden  and 
Haarlem,  and  from  where  Wilhelmina  and 
Pieter  now  stood,  in  the  midst  of  their  father's 
tulip-beds,  they  could  see  the  tower  of  the 
Groote  Kerk,  or  Great  Church,  of  Haarlem. 

Mynheer  Joost  sold  a  very  rare  variety, 
which  only  he  knew  how  to  grow,  and  which 
was  named  the  "  Joost ; "  it  was  almost 
pure  black,  with  only  a  tiny  red  tip  on  each 
petal.  It  was  the  pride  of  his  heart,  and  he 
often  told  the  children  that  he  hoped  some 
day  to  be  able  to  turn  it  into  a  pure  black  one ; 


Pieter  and  Wilhelmina  17 

and  then  what  a  fortune  it  would  bring  them 
all !  So  Pieter  and  Wilhelmina  watched  its 
growth  almost  as  carefully  as  did  their  father. 

"  There  is  Mynheer  and  the  father  now, 
looking  at  the  c  great  tulip/  "  said  Pieter.  This 
was  the  way  they  always  spoke  of  this  wonder- 
ful plant. 

But  Wilhelmina  suddenly  grew  shy  at  the 
sight  of  the  great  man.  "  Come,  let  us  hide," 
she  said,  and  she  tried  to  draw  Pieter  behind 
one  of  the  large  glass  houses,  in  which  were 
kept  many  of  the  rarer  plants.  But  Pieter 
wanted  to  see  Mynheer  Van  der  Veer,  the 
well-known  merchant  who  owned  so  many  big 
warehouses  in  Amsterdam,  and  also  a  tall,  fine 
house  on  one  of  the  "grachten"  of  that  city, 
which  is  the  name  given  to  the  canals. 

Mynheer  was  a  portly  old  gentleman,  and 
was  dressed  much  as  would  be  a  merchant  in 
any  great  city ;  in  a  black  suit  and  a  silk  hat, 
for  the  wealthy   people   of  the  big    cities    of 


18       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

Holland  do  not  wear  to-day  the  picturesque 
costumes  of  the  country  people.  It  is  only 
in  the  country  and  small  towns  that  one  sees 
the  quaint  dress  which  often  has  changed  but 
little  from  what  it  was  hundreds  of  years  ago. 
But  the  Joost  family,  like  many  another  in 
the  country,  were  very  proud  of  their  old- 
time  dress,  and  would  not  have  changed  it  for 
a  modern  costume  for  anything,  and  though 
Mynheer  Joost  was  also  a  wealthy  man,  he 
was  dressed  in  the  same  kind  of  clothes  as 
those  worn  by  his  father  and  grandfather  be- 
fore him.  He  had  on  big,  baggy  trousers  of 
dark  blue  velvet,  coming  only  to  the  knee, 
and  fastened  at  the  waist  with  a  great  silver 
buckle  ;  a  tight-fitting  vest  or  coat,  with  two 
rows  of  big  silver  buttons  down  the  front,  and 
around  his  neck  was  a  gay-coloured  handker- 
chief. On  his  head  was  a  curious  high  cap, 
and  on  his  feet  the  big  wooden  shoes,  nicely 
whitened. 


Pieter  and  Wilhelmina  19 

Each  of  the  men  were  smoking  big  cigars, 
for  the  Dutch  are  great  smokers,  and  are  never 
without  a  pipe  or  cigar. 

Mynheer  Van  der  Veer  had  finished  select- 
ing his  tulips,  and  now  caught  sight  of  the 
twins,  who  were  standing  shyly  together,  hold- 
ing hands  as  usual,  behind  a  mass  of  crimson 
and  yellow  tulips. 

"  Aha !  these  are  your  two  young  ones,  my 
friend ;  they,  too,  are  sturdy  young  plants. 

"  You  look  like  one  of  your  father's  finest 
pink  tulips,  little  one,"  he  continued,  patting 
Wilhelmina's  pink  cheeks. 

You  might  not  think  it  was  a  compliment 
to  be  called  a  tulip,  but  you  must  not  forget 
what  a  high  regard  the  Dutch  have  for  these 
flowers.  So  Wilhelmina  knew  that  she  was 
receiving  a  great  compliment,  and  grew  pinker 
than  ever,  and  entirely  forgot  the  message 
which  her  mother  had  given  her. 

"  And,  Pieter,  some  day  I  suppose  that  you 


20       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

will  be  growing  rare  tulips  like  your  father," 
said  Mynheer,  peering  at  the  lad  over  the 
rims  of  his  glasses. 

"  Pieter  helps  me  greatly  now,  out  of  school 
hours,  and  Wilhelmina  can  pack  blossoms  for 
the  market  as  well  as  our  oldest  gardener,"  said 
Mynheer  Joost,  who  thought  that  there  were 
no  children  in  Holland  the  equal  of  his  twins. 
"  But  you  must  let  the  Vrouw  give  you  some 
of  her  cakes  and  coffee  before  you  leave,  Myn- 
heer," he  continued  as  he  led  the  way  back  to 
the  house. 

The  Dutch  are  very  hospitable,  and  are 
never  so  happy  as  when  they  are  giving  their 
visitors  nice  things  to  eat  and  drink,  and  it 
would  be  considered  very  rude  to  refuse  any 
of  these  good  things  ;  but  then  nobody  wants 
to. 

Mynheer  Van  der  Veer  was  soon  seated  at 
the  big  oak  table,  which  was  covered  with  a 
linen  cloth  finely  embroidered,  and  edged  with 


Pieter  and  Wilhelmina         21 

a  deep  raffle  of  lace.  On  it  were  the  plates 
of  Delftware  filled  with  many  kinds  of  cakes 
and  sweet  biscuits,  which  the  Dutch  call  "  koe- 
jes  ;  "  besides,  there  were  delicious  sweet  rusks, 
which  Mevrouw  Joost  brought  hot  from  the 
oven.  Then  she  poured  the  hot  water  on  to 
the  coffee  from  a  copper  kettle  which  stood  on 
a  high  copper  stand  by  the  side  of  the  table. 
The  silver  coffee-pot  itself  stood  on  a  porce- 
lain stand  at  one  end  of  the  table,  and  under 
this  stand  was  a  tiny  flame  burning  from  an 
alcohol-lamp  in  order  to  keep  the  coffee  warm. 
There  was  no  better  coffee  to  be  had  in  all 
Holland  than  Mevrouw  Joost's,  and  how 
good  it  tasted,  to  be  sure,  out  of  the  dainty 
china  cups, —  real  china,  for  they  had  been 
brought  from  the  Far  East  by  a  great-uncle  of 
the  Joosts  who  had  engaged  in  the  trade  with 
China  at  the  time  when  there  were  nothing  but 
sailing  ships  on  the  seas.  After  the  coffee 
came  brandied  cherries,  served  in  little  glasses, 


22       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

"When  the  young  people  come  to  Amster- 
dam again,  Mynheer  Joost,  you  must  bring 
them  to  see  me,"  said  the  merchant,  "  and 
perhaps  the  young  man  will  want  to  leave  even 
his  tulips  when  he  sees  what  is  in  the  big  ware- 
houses." 

The  twins'  eyes  shone  and  they  pinched 
each  other  with  delight  at  the  mere  thought 
of  a  visit  to  the  wonderful  city  house  of  the 
great  merchant  in  wealthy  Amsterdam,  the 
largest  city  in  their  country. 


CHAPTER    II. 


THE    AMERICAN    COUSIN 


Any  one  who  saw  the  twins  on  their  way  to 
school  one  morning  soon  after  the  visit  of 
Mynheer  Van  der  Veer  would  know  that 
something  unusual  had  happened,  for  they 
were  both  talking  away  at  once,  in  a  most  ex- 
cited manner.  Little  Dutch  children  are  usu- 
ally very  quiet,  when  compared  to  the  children 
of  most  other  countries,  though  they  are  full 
of  fun,  in  a  quiet  sort  of  a  way,  when  they 
want  to  be. 

"  Oh,  Pieter,"  Wilhelmina  was  saying,  "  to 
think  that  we  have  a  cousin  coming  to  see  us 
from  across  the  seas  ! " 

"  I  wonder  if  he  can  talk  Dutch  ;  if  he  can't 

we   will  have   to   speak    English,  so  you  had 
23 


24       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

better  see  to  it  that  you  have  a  better  English 
lesson  than  you  did  yesterday/'  said  Pieter, 
who  was  rather  vain  of  his  own  English. 

There  is  nothing  strange  in  hearing  little 
Dutch  children  speak  English,  French,  or 
German,  for  they  are  taught  all  three  languages 
in  their  schools ;  and  even  very  little  children 
can  say  some  words  of  English  or  German. 

"  It  is  well  for  you  to  talk,"  said  Wilhel- 
mina,  feeling  hurt.  "  English  is  not  hard  for 
you  to  learn ;  as  for  me,  I  can  learn  my  Ger- 
man lesson  in  half  the  time  that  you  can." 

"  Ah  well !  the  German  is  more  like  our 
own  Dutch  language,"  said  Pieter,  soothingly, 
for  the  twins  were  never  "  at  outs  "  for  long  at 
a  time.  "  You  will  soon  learn  English  from 
our  new  cousin  from  America.  Listen  !  there 
is  the  school-bell  ringing  now,"  and  away  they 
clattered  in  their  wooden  shoes  to  the  school- 
house. 

Yesterday  there  had  been  a  solemn  meeting 


The  American  Cousin  25 

in  the  Joost  home.  You  must  know  that  it 
was  an  important  occasion,  because  they  all 
met  in  the  "  show-room."  The  "  domine  " 
(as  the  Dutch  call  their  clergymen)  had  been 
invited,  and  the  schoolmaster,  too,  and  they 
all  sat  around  and  sipped  brandied  cherries  and 
coffee,  the  men  puffing  away  on  their  long 
pipes,  while  Mynheer  Joost  read  aloud  to  them 
a  letter.  It  was  from  a  distant  relative  of  the 
Joost  family  who  lived  in  New  York  City. 

You  know,  of  course,  that  the  Dutch  were 
among  the  first  to  settle  in  America,  and  in  the 
present  great  city  of  New  York.  In  those  early 
days  a  great-great-grand-uncle  of  Mynheer 
Joost  had  gone  to  the  island  of  Manhattan, 
and  made  his  home,  and  now  one  of  his  de- 
scendants, a  Mr.  Sturteveldt,  who  was  a  mer- 
chant in  New  York  City,  was  anxious  to  learn 
something  about  his  family  in  Holland.  He 
had  heard  of  Mynheer  Joost  through  a  friend 
of  his  who  was  fond  of  flowers,  and  who  had 


26       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

once  come  to  Holland  to  buy  some  of  Myn- 
heer Joost's  beautiful  tulips. 

So  Mr.  Sturteveldt  had  written  Mynheer 
Joost  many  letters  and  Mynheer  Joost  had 
written  him  many  letters.  Finally  Mr.  Sturte- 
veldt wrote  and  said  he  very  much  wished  his 
only  son  Theodore  to  see  Holland,  and  to  be- 
come acquainted  with  his  Dutch  relatives. 
Upon  this,  Mynheer  Joost  had  invited  Theo- 
dore to  come  and  spend  some  time  with  them, 
and  this  letter  that  he  was  now  reading  said  that 
Theodore  was  to  sail  in  a  few  days  in  one  of 
the  big  steamers  that  sail  between  New  York 
and  Rotterdam,  under  the  care  of  the  captain, 
and  requested  that  Mynheer  Joost  would  make 
arrangements  to  have  him  met  at  Rotterdam. 

No  wonder  they  all  had  to  talk  it  over  be- 
tween many  sips  of  coffee  and  puffs  from  the 
long  pipes.  It  was  a  great  event  for  the  Joost 
family.  As  for  Pieter  and  Wilhelmina,  they 
could  talk  and  think  of  nothing  else,  and  Wil- 


"'HOW    OLD     IS    COUSIN    THEODORE,    MOTHER?'    ASKED 
WILHELMINA" 


The  American  Cousin  27 

helmina  went  about  all  the  time  murmuring  to 
herself,  "  How  do  you  do  ?  "  and  "  I  am  very 
pleased  to  see  you/'  and  "  I  hope  you  had  a 
pleasant  voyage,"  so  as  to  be  sure  to  say  it 
correctly  when  her  American  cousin  should 
arrive. 

"  How  old  is  Cousin  Theodore,  mother  ?" 
asked  Wilhelmina,  as  she  was  helping  to  give 
the  "show-room"  its  weekly  cleaning.  "Just 
twelve,  I  believe,"  said  her  mother. 

"And  coming  all  by  himself!  I  should  be 
frightened  nearly  to  death,"  said  Wilhelmina, 
who  was  polishing  the  arm  of  a  chair  so  hard 
that  the  little  gold  ornaments  on  her  cap  bobbed 
up  and  down. 

Wilhelmina  was  short  and  chubby,  and  her 
short  blue  dress,  gathered  in  as  full  around  her 
waist  as  could  be,  made  her  look  chubbier 
still.  Over  her  tight,  short-sleeved  bodice  was 
crossed  a  gaily  flowered  silk  handkerchief,  and 
around  her  head,  like  a   coronet,  was   a  gold 


28        Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

band  from  which  hung  on  either  side  a  gold  or- 
nament, which  looked  something  like  a  small 
corkscrew  curl  of  gold.  On  top  of  all  this  she 
wore  a  pretty  little  lace  cap  ;  and  what  was  really 
funny,  her  earrings  were  hung  in  her  cap  in- 
stead of  in  her  ears  !  To-day  she  had  on  a  big 
cotton  working-apron,  instead  of  the  fine  silk 
one  which  she  usually  wore. 

Wilhelmina  and  her  mother  were  dressed  just 
alike,  only  Mevrouw's  dress  was  even  more 
bunchy,  for  she  had  on  about  five  heavy  woollen 
skirts.  This  is  a  Dutch  fashion,  and  one  won- 
ders how  the  women  are  able  to  move  around 
so  lively. 

"  Oh,  mother,  you  are  putting  away  an- 
other roll  of  linen  !  "  and  Wilhelmina  even  for- 
got the  coming  of  her  new  cousin  for  the 
moment,  so  interested  was  she  as  she  saw  the 
mother  open  the  great  linen-press.  This  linen- 
press  was  the  pride  of  Mevrouw  Joost's  heart, 
for  piled  high  on  its  shelves  were  rolls  and  rolls 


The  American  Cousin  29 

of  linen,  much  of  it  made  from  the  flax  which 
grew  upon  their  place.  Mevrouw  Joost  herself 
had  spun  the  thread  on  her  spinning-wheel 
which  stood  in  one  corner  of  the  room,  and  then 
it  had  been  woven  into  cloth. 

Some  of  these  rolls  of  linen  were  more  than  a 
hundred  years  old,  for  they  had  been  handed 
down  like  the  china  and  silver.  The  linen  of 
a  Dutch  household  is  reckoned  a  very  valuable 
belonging  indeed,  and  Wilhelmina  watched  her 
mother  smooth  the  big  rolls  which  were  all 
neatly  tied  up  with  coloured  ribbons,  with  a 
feeling  of  awe,  for  she  knew  that  they  were  a 
part  of  their  wealth,  and  that  some  day,  when 
she  had  a  house  of  her  own,  some  of  this  old 
family  linen  would  be  given  her,  and  then  she, 
too,  would  have  a  big  linen-press  of  which  to 
be  proud. 

Just  as  Mevrouw  Joost  closed  up  the  big 
"  show-room  "  there  came  a  cry  from  the  road 
of  "  Eggs,  eggs,  who'll  give  us  eggs  ?  "   "  There 


30       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

come   the  children  begging  for  Easter  eggs," 
said  Wilhelmina  as  she  ran  to  the  door. 

At  the  gate  were  three  little  children  waving 
long  poles  on  which  were  fastened  evergreen 
and  flowers,  and  singing  a  queer  Dutch  song 
about  Easter  eggs. 

"  May  I  give  them  some,  mother?" 

"  Yes,  one  each,  though  I  think  their  pock- 
ets are  stuffed  out  with  eggs,  now,"  answered 
Mevrouw. 

But  if  they  already  did  have  their  pockets 
stuffed,  the  children  were  delighted  to  get  the 
three  that  Wilhelmina  brought  out  to  them, 
and  went  on  up  the  road,  still  singing,  to  see 
how  many  they  could  get  at  the  next  house. 

The  Dutch  children  amuse  themselves  for 
some  days  before  Easter  by  begging  for  eggs 
in  this  way,  which  they  take  to  their  own 
homes  and  dye  different  colours  and  then  ex- 
hibit to  their  friends.  On  Easter  Day  there  is 
more  fun,  for  they  all  gather  in  the  meadows 


The  American  Cousin  31 

and  roll  the  eggs  on  the  grass,  each  trying  to 
hit  and  break  those  of  his  neighbours. 

At  last  the  day  came  when  Pieter  and  Wil- 
helmina  were  to  see  their  new  cousin  for  the 
first  time.  Their  father  had  gone  to  Rotter- 
dam to  meet  the  steamship  and  bring  Theodore 
back  with  him. 

The  twins  hurried  from  school,  and  hurried 
through  dinner,  and  in  fact  hurried  with  every- 
thing they  did.  Then  they  put  on  their  holiday 
clothes  and  kept  running  up  the  road  to  see  if 
their  father  and  Theodore  were  coming,  al- 
though they  knew  that  it  would  be  hours 
before  they  would  reach  home.  But  of  course, 
just  when  they  were  not  looking  for  them,  in 
walked  the  father  and  said :  "  Here  is  your 
Cousin  Theodore,  children  ;  make  him  wel- 
come." And  there  stood  a  tall  lad,  much 
taller  than  Pieter,  though  they  were  the  same 
age,  holding  out  his  hand  and  talking  English 
so  fast  that  it  made  their  heads  swim. 


32       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

Pieter  managed  to  say  "  How  do  you  do  ? 
I  am  glad  you  have  come/'  but  poor  Wilhel- 
mina  —  every  word  of  her  English  flew  out  of 
her  head,  and  all  she  could  think  to  say  was, 
"  Ik  dank  vy  mijnheer" — "Thank  you,  sir." 

Then  suddenly  the  children  all  grew  as  shy 
as  could  be,  but  after  they  had  eaten  of  Me- 
vrouw's  good  supper,  they  grew  sociable  and 
Theodore  told  them  all  about  his  voyage  over, 
and  Pieter  found  that  he  could  understand  him 
better  than  at  first.  Even  Wilhelmina  got  in  a 
few  English  words,  and  when  Pieter  and  Theo- 
dore went  to  sleep  together,  in  what  Theodore 
called  a  "  big  box,"  anybody  would  have 
thought  they  had  known  each  other  all  their 
lives. 

The  three  young  cousins  were  soon  the  best 
of  friends ;  and  as  for  Theodore,  everything 
was  so  new  and  strange  to  him  that  he  said  it 
was  like  a  big  surprise  party  all  the  time.  He 
said,  too,  that  he  was  going  to  be  a  real  Dutch- 


The  American  Cousin  33 

man  while  he  was  with  them,  and  nothing  would 
do  but  that  he  must  have  a  suit  of  clothes  just 
like  Pieter's,  and  a  tall  cap.  How  they  all 
laughed  the  first  time  he  tried  to  walk  in  the 
big  wooden  shoes  !  But  it  wasn't  long  before 
he  could  run  in  them  as  fast  as  the  twins. 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE    LAND    OF    DIKES    AND    WINDMILLS 

Theodore  wanted  to  learn  to  speak  Dutch, 
and  so  every  morning,  after  they  had  eaten 
their  breakfast  of  coffee,  rye  bread,  and  butter, 
with  either  herrings  or  cheese,  away  he  went 
with  the  twins  across  the  meadows  to  the 
schoolhouse  in  the  centre  of  the  village. 

After  dinner  Theodore  and  Pieter  helped 
about  in  the  tulip-gardens,  while  Wilhelmina 
and  Mevrouw  polished  and  dusted  and  rubbed 
things,  and  made  butter  in  the  great  wooden 
and  china  churn. 

On  the  weekly  holiday  the  three  children 
would  take  long  walks,  or  perhaps  a  ride  on 
the  steam  street-cars,  or  trams,  which  puffed 
through  the  village ;  or  they  would  ride  their 

34 


Land  of  Dikes  and  Windmills     35 

bicycles,  for  this  is  a  favourite  pastime  with 
the  Dutch,  whose  flat  straight  roads  are  always 
so  excellently  kept. 

"  Where  shall  we  go  to-day  ? "  asked  Pieter, 
as  they  started  out  for  a  walk  one  afternoon. 

"  Theodore  has  not  seen  Haarlem  yet," 
said  Wilhelmina.  "  Let's  walk  there  and 
come  back  on  the  steam-tram." 

"  That  makes  me  feel  as  if  I  were  at  home. 
We  have  a  Harlem,  too,  which  is  a  part  of 
New  York  City.  I  suppose  it  was  named 
after  your  city.  Let's  go  by  all  means,  and 
I  will  take  some  pictures,"  said  Theodore, 
slinging  his  camera  over  his  shoulder,  and 
away  they  went  in   high   spirits. 

The  children  were  soon  walking  along  a 
shady  road  by  the  side  of  the  canal.  As  far 
as  they  could  see,  in  any  direction,  stretched 
the  bulb-gardens  blazing  with  colour  of 
all  kinds.  Dotted  everywhere  about  were 
windmills    of    all    sizes,    their    sails    gleaming 


36        Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

white  in  the  sunlight  as  they  went  round  and 
round. 

On  either  side  of  the  road  were  neat  little 
villas,  with  trim  gardens  before  them.  As 
Pieter  told  them,  these  were  the  summer 
homes  of  the  well-to-do  people  who  live  in 
the  cities.  Everybody  who  can,  has  one  of 
these  villas,  where  they  can  come  during  the 
hot  weather,  and  they  especially  like  to  have 
one  near  Haarlem,  because  the  beautiful  gar- 
dens roundabout  make  the  country  seem  so 
gay  and  bright. 

"  This  is  the  one  which  belongs  to  Myn- 
heer Van  der  Veer,"  said  Wilhelmina.  "  I 
think  it  is  the  most  beautiful  of  them  all." 
And  so  it  was,  according  to  Dutch  taste.  The 
young  people  stopped  to  look  at  it  admir- 
ingly. 

For  a  Dutch  home  it  was  very  large,  be- 
cause it  had  two  stories.  The  entire  front  was 
painted  in  half  a   dozen  different  colours  to 


Land  of  Dikes  and  Windmills    37 

represent  as  many  different  coloured  stones, 
all  arranged  in  a  fanciful  pattern. 

The  window-blinds  were  a  bright  pea-green, 
and  the  framework  a  delicate  pink.  The  door 
was  a  dark  green  with  a  fine  brass  knocker  in 
the  centre,  and  a  brass  railing,  shining  like 
gold,  ran  down  on  either  side  of  the  white 
steps.  The  roof  was  of  bright  red  tiles,  which 
glistened  in  the  sun,  and  what  do  you  think 
was  on  the  highest  point  of  the  gable?  A 
china  cat,  coloured  like  life,  and  standing  with 
its  back  up,  just  as  though  it  were  ready  to 
spring  upon  another  cat !  Over  the  doorway 
was  painted  the  motto  :  "  Buiten  Zorg,"  which 
means  "  Without  a  Care." 

What  really  amused  the  party  most  were  the 
queer  figures  which  stood  around  in  the  garden. 

"  See  that  funny  old  fellow  over  by  the 
pond,  shaking  his  head ;  you  might  think  he 
was  alive,"  said  Theodore.  "  He  looks  like  a 
Turk  with  a  big  turban." 


38       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

"  That,"  said  Pieter,  "  is  an  automaton, 
which  can  be  wound  up  so  as  to  nod  his  head. 
And  look,  there  is  another  figure  near  him, — 
a  funny  old  woman,  who  keeps  turning  around, 
as  if  she  got  tired  of  seeing  the  gentleman  with 
the  turban.  Those  ducks  swimming  about  on 
the  pond  are  made  to  move  in  the  same  way." 

The  summer  villa  gardens  are  usually  filled 
with  these  queer  mechanical  contrivances.  I 
suppose  it  amuses  the  rich  old  burghers  to 
watch  them  as  they  sit  smoking  their  long 
pipes  and  taking  their  ease  in  their  little  sum- 
mer-houses on  the  hot  days.  Mynheer  Van 
der  Veer  was  very  proud  of  his  collection  and 
took  great  care  of  them.  When  a  shower  came 
up  he  would  put  an  open  umbrella  over  each 
one,  which  made  them  look  funnier  still,  and 
when  it  rained  very  hard,  he  would  pick  them 
up  bodily  and  carry  them  into  the  house  ;  then 
when  the  sun  shone  again,  out  would  come  the 
funny  little  figures  too. 


Land  of  Dikes  and  Windmills    39 

"  Why  is  the  little  summer-house  in  the 
corner  of  the  garden  built  over  the  canal  ? " 
asked   Theodore. 

"  I  really  don't  know,"  said  Pieter ;  "  they 
always  are,  and  no  villa  is  complete  in  its  ap- 
pointments without  one.  There  is  where 
Mynheer  and  Mevrouw  sit  in  the  afternoon 
and  have  their  coffee  and  'koejes.'  Mynheer 
sits  and  smokes  and  dozes  and  Mevrouw  does 
embroidery." 

The  flower-beds  were  all  arranged  in  regular 
shapes ;  the  walks  were  made  of  several  kinds 
of  coloured  sands  which  were  arranged  to  form 
regular  patterns.  The  trees  were  not  allowed 
to  grow  as  they  pleased.  Dear  me,  no  !  They 
were  trimmed  in  shapes  and  forms  too,  and 
some  of  the  tree-trunks  were  even  painted. 
But  all  was  very  clean  and  proper,  and  every 
leaf  looked  as  though  it  was  frequently  dusted 
and  washed. 

*c  Well,  I  should  not  dare  to  move  about  in 


40       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

that  garden  for  fear  I  should  put  something 
out  of  order,"  said  Theodore.  "It  wouldn't  do 
for  American  children  to  play  in,  with  those 
fine  patterns  in  the  sand  and  all  the  rest.  They 
would  certainly  disappear  in  a  short  time." 

"So  they  would  here,  as  well,"  laughed 
Pieter.  "  But  they  are  kept  up  only  for  show, 
and  everybody  uses  a  side-entrance  except  on 
grand  occasions." 

"Oh,  there  is  a  family  of  storks  on  that 
house !  "  called  out  Wilhelmina ;  "look,  Pieter, 
aren't  they  lucky  people  who  live  there?  " 

Sure  enough,  on  the  top  of  the  chimney 
was  a  mass  of  straw,  and  in  the  midst  of  it  stood 
two  tall  storks.  This  was  their  nest,  and  Papa 
and  Mamma  Stork  were  waiting  for  the  young 
Stork  family  to  come  out  of  their  shells.  Papa 
Stork  stood  on  one  leg  and  cocked  his  head 
down  to  the  children  as  much  as  to  say  :  "  Don't 
you  wish  that  we  were  living  at  your  house  ?  "  ; 
for  storks  must  know  as  well  as  anybody  how 


Land  of  Dikes  and  Windmills    41 

much  they  are  thought  of  in  Holland.  The 
good  people  of  that  country  build  little  plat- 
forms over  their  chimneys  just  so  that  a  stork 
couple  that  are  looking  for  a  place  to  begin 
housekeeping  will  see  it  and  say  to  themselves  : 
"  Here's  a  nice  flat  place  on  which  to  build 
our  nest." 

It  is  considered  very  lucky  indeed  for  a  stork 
family  to  come  to  live  on  one's  chimney-top. 

"  We  thought  one  was  coming  to  live  at  our 
house  last  year,"  said  Wilhelmina,  "  but  they 
must  have  made  up  their  minds  to  go  else- 
where, and  I  was  so  sorry." 

"  And  they  build  on  churches,  too,"  cried 
Theodore.  "  Look,  there's  a  nest  on  the  roof 
of  that  church.  I  had  been  thinking  that  it 
was  a  bundle  of  sticks,  and  wondering  how 
it  got  up  there." 

"The  storks  have  built  there  for  many 
years,  and  they  seem  to  like  the  highest  places 
they  can  find,"  said  Pieter.     "  There  is  a  law 


42       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

to  protect  the  storks,  and  to  forbid  any  injury 
being  done  to  them,  so  you  see  they  can  have 
a  better  time  than  most  birds." 

"  Look,  Pieter,  there  are  big  ships  over 
there  in  the  middle  of  that  green  meadow ; 
how  ever  did  they  get  there  ?  Bless  my  stars  !  " 
said  Theodore,  "  I  do  believe  they  are  sailing 
over  the  grass." 

"  Oh,  Theodore,  you  are  so  funny  !  "  laughed 
Wilhelmina  ;  "  of  course  they  are  on  the  water  ; 
there  is  a  canal  over  there  where  you  are 
looking." 

"Well,  I  can't  see  it,"  persisted  Theodore, 
who  thought  his  eyes  were  playing  him  tricks. 

"  That's  because  our  canals  are  higher  than 
the  land  about  them,"  said  Pieter.  "  You 
must  know  that  we  are  very  economical  wit' 
our  dry  land ;  there  is  nothing  we  prize  su 
much,  because  we  have  so  little  of  it ;  and 
there  is  no  people  in  the  world  who  have 
worked  so  hard  for  theirs  as  the  Dutch,  not 


Land  of  Dikes  and  Windmills    43 

only  to  get  it  in  the  first  place,  but  to  keep  it 
afterward. 

"  Once  all  this  country  about  here  was  either 
a  marsh  or  covered  by  water.  The  land  could 
not  be  allowed  to  go  to  waste  like  that,  and 
so  great  walls  of  mud  and  stone,  called  dikes, 
were  built.  Canals  were  run  here,  there,  and 
everywhere,  and  the  waters  which  covered  the 
lowlands  were  pumped  into  these  canals  and 
so  drained  off.  The  new  land  was  practically 
a  new  area  added  to  the  small  territory  of  Hol- 
land, and  where  once  was  nothing  but  salt 
marsh  and  water-flooded  meadows  are  now 
cities  and  towns  and  houses  and  lovely  gardens. 

"  As  one  walks  along  many  of  the  canal 
banks  in  Holland,  one  is  often  overlooking 
the  roof-tops  of  the  houses  below. " 

"  Why,"  said  Theodore,  "  if  we  tried,  we 
might  look  right  down  that  man's  chimney, 
and  see  what  they  are  cooking  for  dinner ;  the 
road  is  on  a  level  with  the  roof." 


44       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

"  Yes,  our  roads,  too,  are  often  built  on 
dikes ;  this  keeps  them  hard  and  dry,"  said 
Pieter.  "  You  may  judge  as  to  how  wide  some 
of  these  dikes  are,  for  on  this  particular  one 
there  is  not  only  a  road,  but  a  row  of  trees  on 
either  side  of  it  as  well.  Some  are  so  broad 
that  there  are  houses,  and  even  villages,  on 
top  of  them.  The  reclaimed  lands  lying 
between  the  dikes  are  called  c  polders/  and 
thousands  of  acres  of  the  richest  part  of  Hol- 
land have  been  made  in  this  way.  Some  day, 
too,  it  is  planned  that  the  whole  of  the  Zuyder 
Zee  will  be  planted  and  built  over  with  gar- 
dens and  houses." 

"  That  is  just  like  finding  a  country,"  said 
Theodore,  "  but  hasn't  it  all  cost  a  lot  of 
money? " 

"  Yes,  indeed,"  answered  Pieter,  "  and  not 
only  that,  but  millions  of  'gulden'  have  still 
to  be  spent  every  year  to  fight  the  waters  back 
again." 


Land  of  Dikes  and  Windmills    45 

Pieter  also  told  Theodore  that  many  of  the 
great  windmills  which  he  saw  were  used  to 
pump  off  the  surplus  water  which  drained 
through  from  the  canals.  So  many  of  these 
canals  are  there  in  Holland  that  the  country  is 
cut  up  by  them  like  a  checker-board.  They 
are  of  all  sizes,  from  a  tiny  ditch  to  others  big 
enough  for  large  ships  to  sail  upon. 

There  are  not  only  these  inland  dikes, 
which  protect  the  canals  and  the  lands  lying 
between,  but  there  are  great  sea-walls  of  sand 
and  rock  to  keep  the  sea  itself  in  place,  other- 
wise it  would  come  rushing  over  the  lowlands 
and  drown  half  the  country.  Even  that  is  not 
the  end  of  the  matter.  Thousands  and  thou- 
sands of  men  have  to  watch  these  dikes  day 
and  night,  for  one  little  leak  might  be  the 
means  of  flooding  miles  of  country,  and  wash- 
ing away  many  homes  and  lives.  When  the 
cry  is  heard,  "  The  dike  is  breaking  !  "  every 
man,   woman,    and    child   must  go    and    help 


46       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

do  their  share  toward  fighting  back  the 
water. 

"  Well,  I  am  proud  of  my  Dutch  blood," 
said  Theodore  ;  "  they  are  a  splendid  little  peo- 
ple to  work  as  they  do,  and  they  have  had  a 
hard  fight  to  keep  their  heads  above  water.  I 
wonder  if  that  saying  didn't  first  come  from  a 
Dutchman  ! " 

"  Perhaps  that  is  the  reason  that  we  Dutch 
people  talk  so  little,"  said  Pieter ;  "  we  have  to 
think  and  work  so  hard  all  the  time  to  keep 
what  we  have." 

"  Well,"  said  Theodore,  "  Holland  is  a  won- 
derful country ;  it  is  wholly  unlike  any  other 
place." 

"  Tell  the  story,  Pieter,"  said  Wilhelmina, 
"  of  the  time  when  the  people  cut  the  dikes 
and  let  in  the  water  to  save  themselves  from 
the  enemy." 

"  That's  a  long  story,  and  we  must  save  it 
for  another  time,"    said    Pieter,   "  until    after 


Land  of  Dikes  and  Windmills    47 

Theodore  has  seen  Leyden,  for  it  was  there 
that  it  happened. " 

This  talk  on  Dutch  history  came  to  a  sud- 
den stop  as  Pieter  called  out :  "  Look  out, 
Theodore,  or  you  will  get  drenched,"  and  the 
children  had  only  time  to  dodge  a  big  bucket 
of  water  that  a  fat  Vrouw  was  tossing  up  on  her 
windows.  "  You  have  not  yet  learned,  Theo- 
dore, that  a  Dutch  woman  will  not  stop  her 
washing  and  cleaning  for  any  one,"  laughed 
Pieter,  as  they  left  the  angry  Vrouw  shaking 
her  mop  at  them. 

"  I  have  seen  Vrouw  Huytens,  our  neigh- 
bour," said  Pieter,  "  scrubbing  her  house-front 
in  a  heavy  rain,  holding  an  umbrella  over  her- 
self at  the  same  time." 

I  suppose  the  idea  of  cleanliness  comes  from 
the  fact  that  the  Dutch  have  so  much  water 
handy ;  they  say  that  when  a  Dutch  Vrouw 
cannot  find  anything  else  to  do,  she  says,  "  Let's 
wash  something." 


48        Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

It  was  Saturday,  the  great  cleaning  day,  and 
the  housewives  were  washing  down  the  doors 
and  blinds  and  the  sides  of  the  houses  with  big 
mops,  until  everything  shone  brilliantly  in  the 
sunlight ;  the  white  door-steps,  and  even  the 
tree-trunks  and  the  red  brick  walks  were  not  for- 
gotten. They  would  dip  up  the  water  from  the 
canals  and  dash  it  over  the  pavements  with  a 
reckless  disregard  for  passers-by. 

As  the  children  entered  the  town  matters 
grew  worse.  Everywhere  were  happy  Dutch 
folk  of  all  ages,  swashing  clean  water  about 
over  everything,  until  Theodore  finally  said : 
cc  The  next  time  I  come  out  on  cleaning-up 
day  I  shall  wear  a  waterproof.  I  wonder  the 
Dutch  people  don't  grow  web-footed,  like 
ducks. 

cc  You  don't  know  how  strange  it  looks  to 
me  to  see  carts  drawn  by  dogs,"  he  continued. 
"  I'm  going  to  snap-shot  one  of  them  with  my 
camera." 


"'I'm  going  to  snap-shot  one  of  them  with  my 

CAMERA  '  i7 


Land  of  Dikes  and  Windmills     49 

All  along  the  road  rattled  the  little  carts 
drawn  by  dogs,  for  dogs  are  used  a  great  deal 
in  both  Holland  and  Belgium  in  place  of 
horses. 

"  Don't  you  have  them  in  America  ?  "  asked 
Wilhelmina,  in  curious  wonderment. 

"  No,  indeed,"  said  Theodore.  "  How  people 
would  stare  to  see  the  baker  deliver  his  bread 
in  one  of  our  cites  or  towns  from  a  little  cart 
drawn  by  dogs." 

"  Most  of  the  vegetables  from  the  farms 
roundabout  are  brought  into  town  in  this  way," 
said  Pieter. 

"  And  there  is  a  man  and  a  dog  pulling  side 
by  side ;  what  would  they  say  to  that  at  home, 
I  wonder,"  said  Theodore. 

cc  Yes,  some  of  our  poor  c  boers,'  or  farmers, 
have  only  one  dog,  and  he  must  be  helped. 
But  there  is  a  vegetable-cart  with  three  fine 
dogs  harnessed  to  it.  Often  there  are  four  or 
five  dogs  to  a  cart,"  said  Pieter,  "  and  they  can 


5o       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

draw  big  loads,  too,  I  can  tell  you  ;  and  they 
are  as  intelligent  as  human  beings. 

"  You  see  that  big  black  dog  knows  that  the 
brown  one  is  not  doing  his  share  of  the  work, 
so  he  keeps  his  eye  on  him  and  gives  him  a 
sharp  bite  every  once  and  again  to  keep  him 
up  to  the  mark." 

"  Is  that  a  milk-cart  ?  "  asked  Theodore,  as 
he  sighted  a  sort  of  a  chariot  with  three  great 
polished  brass  cans  in  it,  all  shining,  like  every- 
thing else  that  is  Dutch.  "  See,  while  the 
master  is  serving  his  customer,  the  dog  just 
lies  down  in  his  harness  and  rests ;  that  is 
where  he  is  better  off  than  a  pony  would  be 
under  the  same  circumstances.  Think  of  a 
pony  lying  down  every  time  he  stopped." 

At  this  speech  of  Theodore's,  Wilhelmina 
was  much  amused. 

cc  A  pony  could  not  shield  himself  from  the 
sun  by  crawling  under  the  cart,  either,"  said 
Pieter.     "  See,  there  is  one  who   has  crawled 


Land  of  Dikes  and  Windmills    51 

under  his  cart  while  he  is  waiting,  and  is  taking 
a  comfortable  nap.  You  may  be  sure,  how- 
ever, if  any  stranger  attempted  to  take  anything 
from  his  cart,  he  would  become  very  wide 
awake,  and  that  person  would  be  very  sorry  for 
it,  for  the  dogs  guard  their  master's  property 
faithfully." 

By  this  time  our  party  was  well  into  town. 
They  saw  the  "  Groote  Markt,"  or  big  mar- 
ket-place, and  the  Groote  Kerk.  Every  Dutch 
town  has  a  great  market-place,  and  generally 
the  Groote  Kerk,  or  big  church,  stands  in  it,  as 
well  as  the  town  hall.  It  is  here,  too,  that  the 
principal  business  of  the  town  is  transacted. 

The  children  walked  along  the  canals,  which 
are  the  main  streets  in  Dutch  towns  and  cities, 
and  Theodore  never  grew  tired  of  looking  at 
the  queer  houses,  always  with  their  gable  ends 
to  the  street. 

"  What  on  earth  does  that  mean  ? "  said 
Theodore,  stopping   to    read   a   sign   on    the 


52       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

cellar-door  of  a  small  house,  — "  Water  and 
Fire  to  Sell." 

"  Oh,"  said  Pieter,  "  that  is  where  the  poor 
people  can  go  and  buy  for  a  tiny  sum  some 
boiling  water  and  a  piece  of  red-hot  peat,  with 
which  to  cook  their  dinner.  It  is  really  cheaper 
for  them  than  to  keep  a  fire  all  the  day  in 
their  own  houses.  Peat  is  generally  sold  for 
this  purpose  instead  of  coal  or  wood,  for  it  is 
not  so  costly." 

By  this  time  the  young  cousins  were  quite 
ready  to  take  the  steam-tram  home,  and  were 
hungry  enough  for  the  good  supper  which  they 
knew  Mevrouw  Joost  had  prepared  for  them. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THE    KERMIS 

"Isn't  it  nice  that  Theodore  has  come  in 
time  for  the  Kermis?"  said  Wilhelmina,  as 
the  cousins  were  packing  the  flowers  into  the 
big  baskets  for  the  market,  early  one  morn- 
ing. 

"  What  is  a  Kermis  ?  "  asked  Theodore,  all 
curiosity  at  once. 

"  It  is  a  great  fair,  and  generally  lasts  a 
week,"  said  Pieter. 

These  fairs  are  held  in  many  of  the  Dutch 

towns  and  cities.     Booths  are  put  up   in  the 

Groote  Markt  and  on  the  streets,  where  the 

sale  of  all  kinds  of  things  is  carried  on.     There 

are  games  and  merrymakings,  and  dances,  and 

singing,  and  fancy  costumes,  and  much  more 

53 


54       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

to  make  them  novel  to  even  the  Dutch  them- 
selves. 

"  There  is  to  be  a  Kermis  at  Rotterdam 
shortly,'*  said  Pieter,  "and  the  father  has 
promised  to  take  us  all." 

For  a  time  the  children  talked  about  noth- 
ing but  the  Kermis,  until  at  last  the  great  day 
came,  and  they  all  found  themselves  on  the 
train  which  was  taking  them  to  Rotterdam. 

As  they  drew  near  the  city  it  was  easy  to 
see  that  everybody  was  going  to  the  Kermis, 
and  was  thinking  of  nothing  else.  The  roads 
were  crowded  with  all  kinds  of  queer  vehicles 
and  gay  costumes.  There  were  the  big  coun- 
try wagons,  of  strange  shapes,  and  painted  in 
bright  colours.  In  them  were  piled  the  whole 
family,  —  grandparents,  mother,  father,  aunts, 
uncles,  and  cousins.  There  were  the  dogs, 
too,  drawing  their  little  carts,  and  trying  to 
keep  up  with  the  big  wagons,  panting  bravely 
along  with  their  tongues  hanging  out,  as  much 


The  Kermis  55 

as  to  say,  "  We  are  not  going  to  let  the  horses 
get  there  first,  just  because  we  are  little." 

There  were  men  and  women  on  bicycles, — 
the  women  with  their  caps  and  streamers  flap- 
ping in  the  wind  like  white  wings,  and  their 
half-dozen  skirts  filling  out  like  a  balloon,  as 
they  pedalled  rapidly  along. 

It  was  just  twelve  o'clock  as  our  party  left 
the  station,  and  the  bells  were  ringing  gaily, 
which  was  the  signal  for  the  opening  of  the 
Kermis. 

"  My,  but  isn't  this  a  jam  !  "  gasped  Theo- 
dore, who  found  himself  wedged  in  between 
the  market-baskets  of  two  fat  Vrouws. 

"  It  is,  indeed,"  said  Mynheer  Joost,  "  and 
we  must  not  lose  sight  of  one  another.  Now, 
Wilhelmina,  you  keep  between  Theodore  and 
Pieter,  while  the  mother  and  I  will  go  ahead 
to  open  the  way." 

There  was  no  use  trying  to  hurry,  —  Dutch 
folk  do  not  hurry,  even  to  a  Kermis,  —  so  our 


56       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

party  just  let  themselves  be  pushed  slowly 
along  until  they  reached  the  Groote  Mark*. 

Here  things  were  really  getting  lively.  All 
around  the  great  square  were  booths  or  stalls, 
where  one  could  buy  almost  anything  they  were 
likely  to  want.  Flags  were  flying  everywhere, 
and  from  booth  to  booth  were  stretched  gar- 
lands of  flowers  and  streamers  of  ribbons.  In 
the  centre  of  the  market-square  a  band  of  music 
was  playing,  and  couples  were  trying  to  dance 
in  spite  of  the  rough  cobblestone  pavement 
and  the  jostling  of  the  crowd  which  was  watch- 
ing them. 

"You  can  see  now,  Theodore,  just  how 
your  Dutch  cousins  really  look,  for  there  are 
folk  here  from  all  over  the  country,  and  all  in 
their  best  holiday  dress,"  said  Mynheer  Joost. 
"  That  group  of  little  girls,  with  those  high 
sleeves  that  come  nearly  to  the  tops  of  their 
heads,  and  with  extra  large  skirts,  are  from  Zea- 
land." 


The  Kermis  57 

"  I  see  a  woman  with  two  or  three  caps  on 
her  head,  and  a  big,  black  straw  hat  on  top  of 
them,"  said  Theodore. 

"  She  is  from  Hindeloopen  ;  and  there,  too, 
are  a  number  of  flsherwomen,  wearing  huge 
straw  hats,  which  look  like  big  baskets. " 

There  were  other  women  wearing  beautiful 
flowered  silk  shawls,  and  the  sun  glistened  on 
the  gold  ornaments  which  dangled  from  their 
white  caps  as  their  owners  danced  up  and 
down  between  the  long  lines  of  booths,  holding 
each  others  hands. 

People  were  already  crowding  around  the 
booths,  buying  their  favourite  dainties  to  eat, 
which  at  once  reminded  the  young  people  that 
they,  too,  were  hungry. 

"What  will  you  have,  Theodore,  'pofTer- 
tjes'  or  c  oliebollen  '  ?  "  asked  Pieter. 

"  Oh,  what  names  !  "  laughed  Theodore. 
"  How  can  I  tell  ?     Show  them  to  me  first." 

"  Of  course  Theodore  must  eat  the  ( poffer- 


58       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

tjes,'  for  that  is  the  real  Kermis  cake/'  said 
Mynheer  Joost,  and  led  the  way  to  a  booth 
where  a  woman  with  a  big,  flapping  cap  and 
short  sleeves  was  standing,  dipping  ladlefuls 
of  batter  from  a  big  wooden  bowl,  and  dropping 
them  into  hollowed-out  places  in  a  big  pan, 
which  was  placed  on  an  open  fire  before 
her. 

As  soon  as  they  were  cooked,  another  woman 
piled  them  nicely  up,  one  on  top  of  another, 
with  butter  and  sugar  between,  and,  with  a 
smile,  set  a  big  plateful  before  the  children^ 
who  made  them  disappear  in  short  order. 

"  Why,  they  are  buckwheat  cakes,  just  like 
ours  at  home !  "  said  Theodore,  in  the  midst  of 
his  first  mouthful  ;  "  and  they  are  fine,  too. 
Now  let  us  try  the  other  thing  with  the  funny 
name,"  he  continued. 

"  There  they  are,  in  that  box,"  said  Pieter, 
as  he  pointed  to  some  fritters,  made  in  the 
shape  of  little  round  balls. 


The  Kermis  59 

"  Oh,  c  oliebollen '  aren't  half  so  nice  as 
waffles  ;  let  us  have  them  instead,"  said  Wil- 
helmina. 

"  I  think  I  agree  with  Wilhelmina,"  said 
Theodore  ;  "  the  f  oliebollen  '  seem  to  be  tak- 
ing a  bath  in  oil,"  he  continued,  shaking  his 
head  doubtfully. 

"  Oh,  try  one,  anyhow,"  said  Pieter.  "  You 
must  not  miss  any  of  the  Kermis  cakes." 

"  Well,  they  taste  better  than  they  look," 
said  Theodore,  as  he  swallowed  one  of  the 
greasy  little  balls. 

"  How  would  you  like  a  raw  herring,  now, 
to  give  you  an  appetite  for  your  dinner  ? " 
asked  Pieter,  as  they  passed  the  fish-stalls, 
which  were  decorated  with  festoons  offish  that 
looked,  at  a  little  distance,  like  strings  of  white 
flags  waving  in  the  breeze. 

"  Not  for  me,  thank  vou,"  answered  his 
cousin,  "  but  just  look  at  all  those  people  eat- 
ing them  as  if  they  enjoyed  them  ;  and  dried  fish 


60       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

and  smoked  fish,  too,  and  all  without  any 
bread." 

After  the  waffles  had  been  found  and  eaten, 
the  young  people  became  much  interested  in 
watching  a  group  of  men  trying  to  break  *a 
cake.  The  cake  was  placed  over  a  hollowed- 
out  place  in  a  large  log  of  wood,  and  whoever 
could  break  the  cake  in  halves  with  a  blow  of 
his  stick  won  the  cake,  or  what  was  left  of  it. 
The  thing  sounds  easy,  but  it  proved  more  dif- 
ficult than  would  have  seemed  possible. 

cc  Let  us  eat  an  c  ellekoek  '  together,  Pieter ; 
there  they  are,"  and  Wilhelmina  pointed  to 
what  looked  like  yards  and  yards  of  ribbon 
hanging  from  one  of  the  booths.  The  children 
forthwith  bought  a  length,  which  was  measured 
off  for  them  just  as  if  it  really  were  ribbon,  and 
Wilhelmina  put  one  end  in  her  mouth  and 
Pieter  the  other  end  in  his.  The  idea  is  to  eat 
this  ribbon  cake  without  touching  it  with  the 
hands  or  without  its  breaking.     This  Wilhel- 


AT  THE   KERMIS 


The  Kermis  61 

mina  and  Pieter  managed  to  do  in  spite  of 
much  laughter,  and  gave  each  other  a  hearty 
kiss  when  they  got  to  the  middle  of  it. 

"Well,"  said  Theodore,  "I  should  think 
that  a  Kermis  was  for  the  purpose  of  eating 
cakes." 

The  market-place  became  gayer  and  gayer. 
A  crowd  of  people  would  lock  arms  and  form 
a  long  line,  and  then  go  skipping  and  dancing 
along  between  the  booths,  singing  and  trying 
to  capture  other  merrymakers  in  order  to 
make  them  join  their  band. 

"  Look  out,  Theodore,  or  this  line  will  catch 
you,"  laughed  Pieter,  who  jumped  out  of  the 
way,  pulling  Wilhelmina  after  him. 

The  first  thing  Theodore  knew,  a  gay  crowd 
had  circled  around  him  and  made  him  a  pris- 
oner, calling  out  to  him  to  come  and  keep 
Kermis  with  them.  But  Theodore  was  not  to 
be  captured  so  easily  ;  he  had  not  become  pro- 
ficient in  gymnastics  for  nothing,  so  he  simply 


62        Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

ran  up  to  a  short  little  fellow,  and  putting  his 
hands  on  his  shoulders,  vaulted  clean  over 
him,  to  the  amazement  of  the  crowd  and  the 
delight  of  the  twins. 

The  fun  lasted  long  into  the  night,  but 
Mynheer  Joost  took  his  little  party  to  their 
hotel  early  in  the  evening,  for  the  fun  was 
growing  somewhat  boisterous ;  besides,  they 
had  a  long  day  ahead  of  them  for  the  morrow. 

Mevrouw  and  Jan  were  going  back  by  the 
train,  but  Mynheer  and  the  children  had 
brought  their  bicycles  with  them,  and  were 
going  to  cycle  back  a  part  of  the  way.  The 
children  were  looking  forward  to  this  with  as 
much  pleasure  as  they  had  to  any  feature  of 
the  Kermis.  And  so  they  went  to  bed  and 
dreamed  of  cakes,  miles  long,  that  wiggled 
about  like  long  snakes. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    BICYCLE    RIDE 

"Be  up  bright  and  early,"  Mynheer  Joost 
had  said  the  night  before,  and  it  was  a  little 
after  seven  when  the  young  people  finished 
breakfast.  A  Dutch  breakfast  is  a  big  thing; 
besides  nice  coffee,  there  was  rye  bread  and 
and  white  bread,  rolls  and  rusks,  half  a  dozen 
kinds  of  cheeses,  as  well  as  many  kinds  of  cold 
sausages  cut  into  thin  slices. 

After  seeing  Mevrouw  and  Jan  off  on  the 
train,  the  children  mounted  their  wheels,  and, 
in  company  with  Mynheer,  went  bumping  over 
the  big  round  cobblestones  with  which  Rotter- 
dam is  paved. 

"  Our  city  streets  are  not  as  good  as  our 

country  roads,  but  we  will  soon  be  out  in  the 
63 


64       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

open  country,"  said  Mynheer,  as  they  turned 
into  the  "  Boompjes." 

"  Do  you  remember,  Theodore,"  he  contin- 
ued, "  your  steamer  landed  you  just  at  that 
dock  opposite." 

The  "  Boompjes  "  is  a  great  quay  alongside 
of  which  are  to  be  seen  all  manner  of  steam- 
ships, from  those  which  trade  with  the  ports  of 
Great  Britain  and  Germany,  to  the  little  craft 
which  ply  up  and  down  the  rivers  and  canals 
of  Holland,  and  the  long  barges  and  canal- 
boats  with  their  brown  sails. 

Our  bicycle  party  crossed  many  bridges  over 
little  and  big  canals.  By  the  side  of  many  of 
these  canals  the  great  tall  houses  seemed  to 
grow  right  up  out  of  the  water,  queer  old 
houses  with  gables  all  twists  and  curves.  At 
last  they  passed  through  the  "  Delftsche  Poort," 
one  of  the  old  gateways  of  Rotterdam,  and  then 
out  on  to  the  smooth  country  road,  still  running 
by  the  side  of  the  canal. 


The  Bicycle  Ride  65 

"Ah,  this  is  better,"  said  Pieter,  as  he  gave 
a  sigh  of  relief. 

"  No  wonder  cycling  is  popular  in  Holland; 
you  have  such  fine,  flat  roads,"  said  Theodore. 
"  Just  look  at  this  one  all  paved  with  tiny 
bricks ;  why,  it's  like  riding  on  a  table- 
top." 

"  They  are  called  c  klinkers/  and  many  of 
our  roads  are  paved  this  way ;  but  do  you  see 
that  town  just  to  the  left,  Theodore?"  said 
Mynheer  Joost,  as  he  pointed  to  a  jumble  of 
houses,  windmills,  and  masts  of  ships  not  far 
away.  "  That  is  Delfshaven  ;  you  know  what 
happened  there  once  long  ago,  do  you  not  ? " 

"  Oh,  it  was  from  there  that  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers  sailed  for  America,"  cried  Theodore. 

cc  But  I  thought  they  sailed  from  Plymouth, 
England,"  said  Pieter. 

"  They  did  put  into  Plymouth,  on  account 
of  a  storm,  but  their  first  start  was  from  Delfs- 
haven.    Can't  we  go  and  see  the  place  where 


66        Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

they  went  on  board  ship,  Cousin  Joost  ? "  said 
Theodore,  who  nearly  tumbled  off  his  wheel 
in  his  effort  to  see  the  town. 

"  I  am  afraid  the  spot  could  not  be  found 
now/'  smiled  Mynheer.  "  Delfshaven  has 
grown  to  be  a  big  town  since  then  ;  but  you 
can  see  the  church  where  they  worshipped  be- 
fore they  set  sail." 

So  they  turned  on  to  the  road  into  the 
town.  The  old  church  seemed  plain  and  bare 
to  Theodore,  as  he  stood  in  it  and  looked  at 
its  simple  white  walls,  and  it  was  hard  for  him 
to  realize  that  the  history  of  New  England 
began  here. 

"  I  must  write  Henry  all  about  Delfshaven  ; 
he'd  give  a  lot  to  be  in  my  shoes,  now,"  said 
Theodore,  as  they  rode  away  again. 

"  Who  is  Henry  ?  "  asked  Wilhelmina. 

"  He  is  a  chum  of  mine  and  lives  in  Bos- 
ton. You  see  his  people  came  over  with  the 
Pilgrims,  just  as  mine  came  over  later  from 


ON   THE   ROAD   TO   DELFSHAVEN 


The  Bicycle  Ride  67 

Holland,  and  he  is  always  talking  a  lot  about 
the  Mayflower  and  all  that. 

"  But  just  see  that  woman  pulling  that  big 
boat,  and  the  two  children  helping  her  — 
think  of  it !  "  and  Theodore  forgot  all  about 
the  Pilgrims  in  the  strange  sight  before 
him. 

"  Those  are  barge-people ;  let  us  stop  and 
rest  awhile,  and  you  can  see  them  better," 
said  Mynheer,  who  set  the  example  by  jump- 
ing off  his  wheel. 

It  did  look  like  hard  work,  too,  as  the 
woman  came  slowly  along,  panting  and  strain- 
ing at  one  end  of  a  long  rope.  There  was  a 
loop  in  the  rope  which  passed  over  her  chest, 
and  the  other  end  was  made  fast  to  the  prow 
of  the  barge,  or  "  tjalk."  Behind  her  were  a 
little  girl  and  a  boy,  not  more  than  ten  or 
twelve  years  old,  each  of  them,  like  the  mother, 
tugging  away  at  the  heavy  load. 

"  Think  of  those  little  children  helping  to 


68        Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

move  that  great  heavy  boat !  I  don't  see  how 
they  do  it,"  said  Wilhelmina. 

"  It  must  be  hard  work,  but  they  don't 
seem  to  mind  it,"  said  her  father. 

It  looked  as  if  the  children  did  not,  for  they 
were  plump  and  round,  and  as  they  passed, 
they  smiled  shyly  and  said  "  Good  morning," 
and  kept  looking  back  with  grins  of  amuse- 
ment. 

"  The  father  is  the  one  who  has  the  easy 
time,"  said  Pieter ;  "  see,  he  sits  comfortably 
beside  the  big  tiller,  to  which  he  only  gives 
a  slight  turn  once  and  again,  for  the  canals 
are  so  straight  that  the  *  tjalk '  does  not 
require  much  steering.  He  is  quite  content 
to  let  the  Vrouw  and  the  little  ones  tow  the 
1  tjalk '  while  he  smokes  and  dozes  on 
deck." 

"  Well,  it  grows  c  curiouser  and  curiouser,' 
as  Alice  in  Wonderland  said.  Your  roads  are 
of  water,  and  your  wagons  are  boats,  and  your 


The  Bicycle  Ride  69 

people  do  the  work  of  horses.  Why  don't  they 
use  horses  ?  "  demanded  Theodore. 

"  Well  the  c  tjalks  '  really  depend  upon  the 
wind  to  carry  them  along,"  said  Mynheer. 
"You  see  this  one  has  a  big  sail,  and  it  is  only 
when  there  is  no  wind  that  they  have  to  tow 
the  boats.  Once  they  used  dogs  for  the  tow- 
ing, but  now  the  people  who  live  on  board  do 
the  work,  and  if  it  is  slow,  why,  nobody  seems 
to  mind." 

The  barge  was  painted  red  and  blue,  and  in 
the  great  rounded  bow  there  were  two  round 
openings  through  which  the  anchor-chains 
passed,  and  which  looked  like  big  staring  eyes, 
particularly  at  night,  when  a  ray  of  light  often 
shot  through  them. 

"  Of  course  some  one  is  washing  things,  as 
usual,"  said  Theodore  ;  "  even  the  barges  don't 
escape  a  continual  ( spring  cleaning.'  And 
sure  enough,  there  was  another  woman  splash- 
ing pailfuls  of  water  over  everything,  even  over 


jo        Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

the  drowsy  Mynheer  at  the  tiller.  He  was 
probably  used  to  this,  however,  for  he  didn't 
take  the  slightest  notice. 

"  Yes,  indeed,  the  '  tjalk '  owners  take  a 
great  pride  in  the  spick  and  span  appearance 
of  their  boats,"  said  Mynheer  Joost.  "You 
must  remember  that  the  c tjalk '  is  their  home. 
They  are  born  on  it,  and  often  live  and  die 
there,  as  did  their  fathers  and  grandfathers 
before  them,  for  many  of  these  boats  are  very 
old.  The  little  cabin  on  the  poop  is  all  the 
house  they  ever  have,  and  they  are  just  as 
proud  of  it  as  if  it  were  a  fine  villa  like  that 
of  Mynheer  Van  der  Veer. 

"  You  see,"  he  continued,  "  they  have  their 
little  garden,  too.  There  are  tulips  planted  in 
a  box  before  the  door,  and  a  tiny  path  out^ 
lined  with  shells." 

"  And  a  little  garden-gate,  too,"  cried  Wil- 
helmina  ;  "  isn't  it  funny  ?  " 

"Yes,"  said  her  father,  "they  like  to  think 


The  Bicycle  Ride  71 

that  they  have  everything  that  goes  with  a 
house  on  land." 

"  There  is  a  cage  of  birds,  also,"  said  Wilhel- 
mina  again,  "  and  a  little  china  dog  sitting  by 
the  side  of  the  tulip-bed,  who  seems  to  be 
watching  them." 

"  I  suppose  if  there  were  room  enough  in 
the  garden  there  would  be  a  summer-house, 
too,"  said  Pieter, 

There  is  no  doubt  but  what  the  "  bargees  " 
enjoy  their  lives,  and  nothing  would  make 
them  so  unhappy  as  to  have  to  live  on  dry 
land.  There  are  thousands  and  thousands 
of  these  "  tjalks "  in  Holland,  and  most 
of  the  merchandise  of  all  kinds  which  is 
transported  about  the  country  is  carried  by 
them. 

"  Time  to  be  on  the  road,"  said  Mynheer  to 
his  young  party  ;  and  before  long  they  were  all 
riding  into  the  old  town  of  Delft. 

"  Listen    to    those    bells,"   cried  Theodore, 


72        Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

£f  they  are  playing  one  of  our  popular  Ameri- 
can marches.     Where  are  they  ?  " 

"  Those  are  the  chimes  you  hear  ringing  in 
the  belfry,"  said  Pieter.  "  They  must  be  play- 
ing the  march  in  your  honour,  Theodore." 

Each  town  in  Holland  has  its  chime  of  bells, 
usually  hung  in  the  tower  of  the  principal 
church.  The  chimes  are  played  by  means  of  a 
wonderful  mechanical  keyboard,  and  the  Dutch 
are  very  fond  of  hearing  them  ring  out  the 
popular  tunes  of  the  day. 

"  It  was  in  this  place  that  long  ago  the 
famous  blue  and  white  Delftware  was  made, 
like  that  the  mother  has  at  home,"  said  Myn- 
heer. "  There  is  Delftware  made  now,  but  it  is 
not  prized  like  the  old  kind. 

"  But  we  must  not  linger,  children,  if  we  are 
to  reach  The  Hague  for  dinner,"  and  he  mar- 
shalled the  young  people  again  upon  the  road. 

Soon  they  were  skimming  over  the  smooth, 
flat  roadway,  and  came  almost  at  once  on  to 


The  Bicycle  Ride  73 

fine  boulevards  lined  with  handsome  houses, 
so  they  knew  they  were  at  The  Hague 
itself. 

The  twins  were  as  interested  as  their  Ameri- 
can cousin  in  the  sights  of  their  capital  city, 
and  Wilhelmina  wanted  to  know  at  once  if  there 
would  be  a  chance  of  their  seeing  the  queen. 
You  see  she  was  named  after  Queen  Wilhel- 
mina, so  she  felt  as  if  she  had  a  right  to  see 
her,  even  more  than  other  little  Dutch  girls, 
though  indeed  they  are  all  fond  of  their  young 
ruler,  who  not  so  very  long  ago  was  a  young 
girl  like  Wilhelmina  herself. 

Wilhelmina  had  among  her  treasures  at  home 
a  picture  of  Queen  Wilhelmina,  taken  when 
she  was  a  little  girl,  and  dressed  in  the  pretty 
Frisian  costume,  one  of  the  prettiest  of  the 
national  costumes  of  Holland. 

"  I  can't  say,"  smiled  her  father,  in  answer 
to  Wilhelmina' s  question,  "  but  we  can  go  out 
to  the  '  Huis  ten  Bosch/  and  maybe  we  shall 


74       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

be  fortunate  enough  to  meet  her  out  driving  in 
the  park." 

After  our  friends  had  done  justice  to  a  good 
dinner  at  one  of  the  famous  hotels  of  The 
Hague,  they  left  their  bicycles  at  the  hotel, 
and  took  the  steam-tram  to  the  "  Huis  ten 
Bosch/'  which  is  Dutch  for  "  House  in  the 
Wood."  It  is  one  of  the  royal  palaces  of  Hol- 
land and  is  situated  in  the  midst  of  a  beautiful 
wood.  The  forests  of  Holland  are  very  much 
prized  because  there  are  so  few  of  them,  and 
so  this  "  House  in  the  Wood  "  is  one  of  the 
favourite  royal  residences. 

Though  Wilhelmina  did  not  see  her  queen, 
she  saw  the  next  best  thing,  for  they  went 
through  the  state  apartments  of  the  palace,  and 
saw  the  beautiful  Chinese  Room  and  the  Japa- 
nese Room,  each  of  them  entirely  filled  with 
beautiful  things  from  the  Orient. 

"  Now  shall  we  go  to  Scheveningen,  or  are 
you  too  tired  ?  "  asked  Mynheer. 


The  Bicycle  Ride  75 

"  Tired ! "  The  children  laughed  at  the 
idea.  They  were  out  for  a  holiday,  and  were 
going  to  see  as  much  as  possible ;  and  away 
they  went  again  on  another  steam-tram  to  a 
fishing-town  a  few  miles  from  The  Hague, 
called  Scheveningen,  which  is  a  big  mouthful 
of  a  word,  isn't  it  ?  This  is  where  the  fisher- 
folk  live  who  go  out  in  their  stubby  boats, 
called  "  pinken,"  to  fish  in  the  North  Sea. 

"  I  don't  see  the  ocean,"  said  Pieter,  look- 
ing about  him  as  they  walked  through  the 
town,  with  its  rows  and  rows  of  neat  little 
houses  of  brick  where  the  fishermen  live. 

"  Climb  up  to  the  top  of  those  sand-dunes 
and  you  will,"  said  his  father.  "  These  dunes 
or  banks  of  sand  have  been  blown  up  by  the 
wind  and  sea  until  they  form  a  high  wall  or 
breakwater.  There  are  many  such  all  along 
the  coast  of  Holland,  and  to  keep  the  wind 
from  blowing  the  loose  sand  back  inland,  over 
the  fields  and  gardens,  these  banks  of  sand,  or 


76       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

dunes,  are  planted  over  in  many  places  with 
grasses  and  shrubs,  which  bind  the  sand  to- 
gether and  keep  it  in  place." 

"There  is  a  fish  auction  going  on  over 
there :  let's  go  down  and  see  it,"  called  out 
Pieter. 

A  boat-load  of  fish  had  just  been  landed  on 
the  beach,  and  a  crowd  of  fishermen  and  women 
were  standing  around  it.  The  women  had 
big  basket-shaped  hats  over  their  white  caps, 
and  the  men  wore  baggy  trousers  and  tall 
caps. 

The  fish  were  being  auctioned  off  in  the 
Dutch  fashion,  which  is  just  the  reverse  of  the 
usual  auctioneering  methods.  A  market  price 
is  put  upon  the  fish,  and  the  purchaser  bidding 
the  nearest  thereto  takes  them. 

"  What  are  those  things  on  the  sands  over 
there  that  look  like  big  mushrooms,  Cousin 
Joost  ? "  asked  Theodore,  pointing  to  a  spot 
half  a  mile  or  so  farther  on. 


The  Bicycle  Ride  77 

"  They  do  look  something  like  mushrooms, 
Theodore,"  said  his  uncle,  "  and  they  come 
and  go  about  as  quickly.  They  are  the 
straw  chairs  and  shelters  in  which  visitors  sit 
when  they  are  taking  the  fresh  air  on  the 
sands." 

These  chairs  are  closed  in  on  all  sides  but 
one,  and  have  a  sort  of  roof  over  them,  so  as 
to  protect  the  occupant  from  the  wind  and 
rain.  Scheveningen,  besides  being  one  of  the 
largest  fishing-towns  in  Holland,  is  the  great 
seaside  resort  of  the  Dutch  people.  Here  the 
well-to-do  burghers  and  merchants  come  with 
their  Vrouws  and  sit  in  the  big  basket-chairs, 
while  the  children  dig  miniature  canals  and 
build  toy  dikes  in  the  sand,  modelled  after 
those  which  surround  their  homes. 

When  our  tourists  got  back  to  The  Hague 
they  walked  around  and  looked  at  the  fine 
houses  of  the  city.  They  saw,  too,  the  storks 
in  the  market-place,  around  which  were  many 


78       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

fisherwomen  with  their  wares  spread  out  for 
sale.  The  storks  are  well  fed,  and  are  kept 
here  at  the  expense  of  the  city,  for  good  luck, 
perhaps. 

The  children  thought  they  had  cycled  quite 
enough  for  one  day,  so  they  put  their  wheels 
and  themselves  in  the  train  for  Leyden,  and 
were  soon  tooting  into  one  of  the  oldest  cities 
of  Holland. 

£C  Are  we  there  already  ?  "  asked  Theodore, 
amazed  at  the  shortness  of  the  journey. 

"Yes,  everything  is  close  together  in  our 
little  Holland,"  said  Mynheer. 

The  Dutch  are  very  proud  of  Leyden  for 
many  reasons,  but  especially  for  the  brave 
defence  the  city  made  against  the  Spaniards  at 
the  time  when  the  sturdy  Dutch  were  fighting 
to  free  themselves  from  the  rule  of  Spain. 
The  city  was  besieged  for  nearly  a  year,  but 
the  plucky  burghers  never  gave  in.  The  city 
was   finally  saved   by  cutting   the  dikes,  and 


The  Bicycle  Ride  79 

letting  in  the  waters,  so  that  the  Dutch  fleet 
could  sail  right  up  to  the  city  walls  and  thus 
drive  off  the  enemy.  It  is  said  that  to  reward 
the  people  of  Leyden  for  their  bravery  and 
courage,  the  government  afterward  offered  to 
either  free  them  forever  from  all  taxes,  or  to 
give  them  a  university.  They  wisely  chose 
the  latter,  and  this  same  University  of  Leyden 
has  always  ranked  among  the  great  institutions 
of  learning  throughout  the  world,  and  many 
great  men  have  studied  within  its  walls. 

"Your  friend  Henry  would  like  to  see 
Leyden,  also,"  said  Mynheer.  "  It  was  here 
that  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  lived  for  many  years 
before  they  finally  set  sail  for  the  New  World. 
The  city  gave  them  a  safe  shelter,  when  they 
were  persecuted  and  driven  from  other  lands, 
and  for  this  reason  alone  Leyden  should 
always  be  remembered  by  our  American 
cousins." 

"  Don't  you  feel  as  if  you  had  been  up  two 


80       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

whole  days  ?  "  asked  Theodore  of  Pieter,  as 
he  gave  a  big  yawn  ;  but  Pieter  and  Wilhel- 
mina  were  already  fast  asleep  as  the  train 
whirled  them  on  toward  Haarlem. 

None  of  the  children  talked  much  either 
while  they  ate  the  hot  supper  Mevrouw 
Joost  had  ready  for  them,  and  soon  they 
were  tucked  away  in  their  beds.  But  the 
next  day  you  should  have  heard  the  three 
tongues  wag,  and  Mevrouw  and  Baby  Jan 
had  to  hear  all  the  adventures  over  again 
many  times. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

WHERE    THE    CHEESES    COME    FROM 

"  What  a  jumble  of  ships  and  houses  !  I 
shouldn't  think  you  would  know  whether  you 
were  going  into  a  house  or  aboard  ship,  when 
you  open  the  front  door,"  said  Theodore,  one 
fine  summer's  day,  when  the  cousins  were 
strolling  about  Amsterdam,  on  their  way  to 
pay  the  promised  visit  to  Mynheer  Van 
der  Veer. 

Others  besides  Theodore   might   think  the 

same    thing,    for   Amsterdam    really   grew  up 

out  of  the  water.     The   houses   are,   for  the 

most  part,  built  on  wooden  piles  ;  and  there 

are  as  many  canals  as    there  are  streets,  and 

big  ships  move  about  between  the  buildings  in 

the  most  wonderful  manner. 
81 


82       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

They  found  Mynheer  Van  der  Veer  smok- 
ing his  meerschaum  pipe  at  his  warehouse  on 
one  of  the  principal  canals.  He  was  glad  in- 
deed to  see  his  little  friends  of  the  tulip- 
garden,  as  he  called  them,  and  showed  them 
all  around  the  big  establishment  They  saw 
the  big  ships  that  were  anchored  right  at  his 
door,  and  the  bales  and  boxes  being  loaded 
into  their  holds  from  the  very  windows  of  the 
warehouse  itself.  He  showed  them  the  coffees 
and  sugars  and  spices  which  other  ships  had 
brought  from  the  Dutch  East  Indies,  which  as 
you  all  know  are  around  on  the  other  side  of 
the  world.  Holland  owns  some  of  the  richest 
islands  in  the  world,  many  of  them  larger  than 
Holland  itself.  One  of  these  islands  is  Java, 
where  the  fine  Java  coffee  comes  from,  and 
this  is  one  of  the  reasons  why  the  Dutch  always 
have  such  good  coffee,  and  drink  so  much 
of  it. 

Mynheer  gave  them  all  nice  spices  to  taste, 


Where  the  Cheeses  Come  from    83 

and  was  amused  at  the  faces  they  made  at 
some  hot  peppery  things  they  were  eager 
to  try. 

After  this  he  took  them  to  his  fine,  tall 
house  that  faced  on  another  canal,  where  there 
were  long  rows  of  other  tall  houses,  all  built  of 
tiny  bricks  and  as  neat  as  pins.  All  of  them 
were  as  much  alike,  in  their  outside  appearance 
at  least,  as  a  row  of  pins,  too.  Here  the 
children  met  the  portly  Mevrouw  Van  der 
Veer  in  her  rustling  silk  dress,  who  gave  them 
a  warm  welcome. 

She  had  just  come  in  from  a  walk,  and  on  the 
top  of  her  beautiful  lace  cap  with  its  gold  or- 
naments she  wore  a  very  fashionable  modern 
hat. 

"  Oh,"  thought  Wilhelmina,  "  why  does  she 
spoil  her  fine  cap  like  that?"  But  you  see 
many  Dutch  ladies  who  combine  the  old  and 
the  new  styles  in  just  that  way. 

They  all  sat  in  Mevrouw's  fine  parlour,  with 


84       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

its  shining  waxed  floor,  which  was  filled  with 
beautiful  things  from  all  parts  of  the  world. 
There  was  furniture  of  teak-wood  from  India, 
wonderfully  carved,  and  rare  china  and  porce- 
lain from  China  and  Japan.  Exquisite  silk 
curtains  hung  at  the  windows,  and  embroidered 
screens  cut  off  any  possible  draughts. 

These  rare  things  had  been  brought  from 
time  to  time  in  Mynheer's  ships,  as  they  were 
homeward  bound  from  these  far-off  countries. 

Mevrouw  sat  before  a  little  table  laden  with 
silver  and  fine  china,  and  poured  coffee  for 
them  from  a  big  silver  coffee-pot,  and  gave 
them  many  kinds  of  nice  Dutch  cakes  to  eat ; 
and  when  she  said  good-bye  she  promised  Myn- 
heer Joost  that  she  would  come  some  day  and 
see  his  tulip-garden  herself. 

cc  Why  was  that  small  looking-glass  fastened 
outside  of  one  of  the  upper  windows?"  asked 
Theodore,  as  they  left  Mynheer  Van  der  Veer's 
house. 


Where  the  Cheeses  Come  from     85 

"  Many  of  these  Dutch  houses  have  these 
little  mirrors  fastened  before  the  windows  at 
such  an  angle  that  by  merely  looking  in  it  from 
the  inside,  one  may  see  who  is  at  the  front 
door,"  said  his  cousin ;  "  and  then,  too,  the 
ladies  can  sit  by  the  window,  sewing  or  reading, 
and  can  amuse  themselves  by  watching  what  is 
going  on  in  the  street  below,  without  troubling 
to  look  out  of  the  window." 

"  I  should  hate  to  have  to  wear  a  dress  like 
that,"  said  Wilhelmina,  looking  at  two  young 
girls  who  were  passing  by.  It  did  look  strange, 
for  one  half  of  their  dress  was  red  and  the  other 
half  black. 

"  They  are  the  girls  from  the  orphanage,  and 
this  is  the  uniform  that  they  all  must  wear," 
said  Mynheer  Joost. 

"  Now  Theodore  must  see  some  of  the  pic- 
tures of  our  great  painters,"  he  continued,  as  he 
led  the  young  folks  toward  the  splendid  pic- 
ture-gallery, where  they  strolled  through  what 


86        Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

seemed  to  them  miles  of  rooms  and  corridors* 
all  hung  with  beautiful  and  valuable  pictures, 
for  little  Holland  has  had  some  of  the  greatest 
artists  the  world  has  ever  known,  and  some 
day,  if  you  care  about  pictures,  —  and  you  cer- 
tainly should,  —  you  will  want  to  go  there  and 
see  them  for  yourself. 

After  this  they  did  a  great  deal  more  sight- 
seeing, and  Mynheer  showed  them  the  "  Ex- 
change/' where  the  business  of  the  city  is 
carried  on,  and  told  them  that  there  was  one 
week  in  the  year  when  the  boys  of  Amsterdam 
were  allowed  to  use  the  "  Exchange "  for  a 
playground. 

This  was  a  reward  for  the  good  deed  of  some 
brave  boys  of  long  ago,  when  the  Spaniards 
were  plotting  to  capture  the  city.  The  boys, 
it  seems,  first  discovered  the  secret,  and 
went  and  informed  the  authorities,  who  were 
thus  able  to  defend  their  city  from  attack. 

"  This,"  said  Mynheer,  "  was  the  case  when 


Where  the  Cheeses  Come  from      87 

I  was  young,  and  I  suppose  the  boys  are  still 
allowed  the  same  privilege." 

Our  little  folk  were  glad  enough  to  take  their 
seats  on  the  deck  of  the  little  steamboat  which 
was  to  take  them  to  Alkmaar,  the  centre  of 
the  cheese-trade  of  North  Holland. 

"  Whew  !  but  we  have  done  a  lot  of  tramping 
about  to-day  ;  oh,  my  poor  feet !  "  said  Pieter, 
as  he  stretched  himself  out  on  a  bench. 

"  Father,  haven't  you  got  something  for  us  to 
eat  in  your  pocket  ? "  asked  Wilhelmina,  coax- 
ingly. 

Mynheer  smiled,  and  from  away  down  in 
the  depths  of  his  pocket,  he  drew  forth  a  big 
loaf  of  gingerbread.  The  children  munched 
away  at  this  favourite  Dutch  delicacy,  and 
amused  themselves  by  watching  the  people 
who  were  making  the  journey  with  them. 

There  were  two  fat  old  women,  sitting  side 
by  side  and  knitting  away  as  if  for  their  lives. 
They    nodded   their    heads    every    time    they 


88        Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

spoke,  which  made  their  long  gold  corkscrew 
ornaments  in  their  caps  bob  up  and  down,  and 
each  had  her  feet  on  a  little  foot-stove  as  if  it 
were  midwinter.  There  were  two  little  girls 
with  their  father,  who  looked  like  little  dolls, 
in  short  red  dresses,  with  dark  green  waists  and 
short  sleeves,  and  pretty  aprons  embroidered 
in  many  coloured  silks,  and  many  gold  chains, 
and  earrings  reaching  nearly  down  to  their 
shoulders.  They  had  a  solid  gold  head-piece 
under  their  caps.  The  man  had  on  velvet 
knickerbockers,  nearly  as  broad  as  they  were 
long,  and  two  great  silver  rosettes  fastened  in 
his  belt.  There  were  big  silver  buttons  on  his 
jacket,  and  his  cap  must  have  been  over  a  foot 
high. 

The  little  girls  were  very  shy,  but  when 
Wilhelmina  offered  them  some  of  her  ginger- 
bread they  soon  made  friends,  and  the  three 
were  soon  chatting  away  like  old  acquaint- 
ances* 


Where  the  Cheeses  Come  from     89 

"Aren't  they  gorgeous?"  whispered  Pieter. 
"  They  are  from  the  little  island  of  Marken, 
near  here,  in  the  Zuyder  Zee,  and  have  on 
all  their  holiday  clothes." 

The  island  of  Marken  is  like  a  big  bowl, 
Mynheer  told  them,  for  all  of  it  but  the  rim  is 
lower  than  the  waters  which  surround  it.  The 
rim  is  a  high  stone  wall  which  was  built  to 
keep  the  water  out.  Everybody  who  lives 
there  keeps  a  boat  tied  to  their  gate  or  door  in 
order  that  they  may  have  some  means  of 
escape  if  the  wall  should  ever  break. 

"Just  think  of  it  !  I  should  never  sleep 
nights,  if  I  lived  there,  for  fear  of  waking  up 
and  finding  myself  floating  about  in  the  water. 
I  should  think  the  Dutch  would  be  the  most 
nervous  people  in  the  world,  instead  of  the 
most  placid,"  said  Theodore. 

"  That  danger  does  not  often  happen,"  said 
Mynheer.  "  But  look  how  beautifully  carved 
their  shoes  are.      The  men  do  it  themselves 


90       Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

during  the  long  winter  evenings,  and  take  great 
pride  in  their  work." 

The  little  steamer  puffed  along  the  North 
Sea  Canal,  by  which  the  big  ships  come  right 
up  to  Amsterdam.  All  kinds  of  queer  tublike 
boats,  with  big  brown  sails,  tanned  to  preserve 
them  from  the  damp,  passed  them,  and  soon 
they  turned  into  the  river  Zaan. 

"  There  is  Zaandam,"  said  Mynheer ;  "  they 
say  that  most  of  the  people  who  live  there  are 
millionaires.     It  is  a  wealthy  little  town." 

"You  would  not  think  so  from  the  looks 
of  the  houses,"  remarked  Pieter ;  "  they  seem 
mostly  to  be  small  brick  cottages  of  one  story, 
with  a  tiny  yard  in  front." 

As  the  steamer  glides  along,  between  green 
meadows  as  flat  as  one's  hand,  they  could  see 
on  all  sides  innumerable  windmills.  The  boys 
tried  to  count  them,  but  soon  gave  up  the  task. 
It  is  said  that  there  are  over  six  hundred  of 
them  in  this  one  short  stretch  of  country. 


Where  the  Cheeses  Come  from     91 

"Why  are  some  of  the  windmills  built  on 
top  of  the  houses?"  asked  Theodore. 

"  For  the  reason  that  they  are  made  to  turn 
the  machinery  which  is  situated  in  the  build- 
ings below,"  said  Mynheer ;  "  not  all  the  wind- 
mills are  used  for  pumping  water,  by  any 
means." 

They  were  now  in  the  midst  of  the  cheese 
country,  one  of  the  richest  sections  of  Holland. 
There  were  everywhere  to  be  seen  trim  little 
villas  and  neat  farmhouses,  while  the  meadows 
were  full  of  the  curiously  marked  black  and 
white  cows  called  "  Holsteins."  These  are  the 
favourite  cows  throughout  Holland  for  furnish- 
ing the  milk  for  the  famous  butter  and  cheeses 
of  the  country. 

They  were  at  Alkmaar  before  they  knew  it. 
The  two  old  women,  who  had  never  stopped 
knitting  for  a  moment,  picked  up  their  little 
foot-stoves  and  waddled  off;  Wilhelmina  bade 
her  little  Marken  friends  good-bye ;  and  Myn- 


92        Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

heer's  party  hurried  off  to  a  little  inn  on  the 
market-place,  for  the  sun  was  setting  and  the 
children  said  they  were  nearly  starved,  in  spite 
of  the  gingerbread  which  they  had  eaten. 

Outside  the  inn  was  a  row  of  fat,  sleepy- 
looking  old  men  sitting  on  a  long  bench, 
watching  a  game  of  "  skittles "  which  was 
going  on  in  the  square,  for  both  "  grown-ups  " 
and  children  usually  play  their  games  in  the 
village  square.  Each  had  his  long  pipe  and  a 
glass  of  "  schnapps  "  just  under  his  part  of  the 
bench,  and  when  he  wanted  a  drink  all  he  had 
to  do  was  to  reach  down  and  get  it.  Not  one 
of  them  said  a  word ;  they  just  sat  there  and 
looked,  and  smoked  and  drank. 

In  a  cosy  room,  with  a  floor  of  red  bricks, 
neatly  covered  with  sand,  a  rosy-cheeked  girl 
soon  set  out  a  real  Dutch  supper  for  our 
hungry  little  travellers. 

There  was  cold  sausage,  potato  salad,  fresh 
herrings,  and  a  strange  dish  made  of  buttermilk 


Where  the  Cheeses  Come  from     93 

and  buckwheat-flour,  all  boiled  together  and 
flavoured  with  green  herbs.  The  Joost  family 
thought  it  delicious,  but  Theodore  said  that 
it  would  take  him  some  time  to  get  used  to  it, 
and  preferred  the  big  loaves  of  rye-bread  filled 
with  raisins.  As  for  cheeses,  there  was  no  end 
to  the  different  kinds  —  and  all  of  them  excel- 
lent ;  while  to  wind  up  with,  there  was  a 
delicious  hot  gingerbread  and  good  coffee. 
Did  it  keep  them  awake?  No,  indeed,  they 
dropped  off  to  sleep  in  a  moment,  inside  their 
big  cupboard-beds,  that  had  doors  to  them, 
instead  of  curtains,  which  made  them  look 
more  like  boxes  than  ever. 

"  Just  come  and  look  out  the  window, 
Theodore,"  said  Pieter  early  the  next  morning. 
He  was  at  the  window  and  Theodore  was  out 
of  bed  in  a  moment  and  beside  him. 

"  Why  the  whole  square  is  filled  with 
cheeses,"  he  cried.  So  it  was,  for  this  was 
market-day,    when    the    farmers  —  "  boeren," 


94        Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

they  are  called  —  from  all  the  country  round- 
about bring  in  their  cheeses  to  sell  them  in 
the  market-place. 

The  boys  scrambled  into  their  clothes,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  were  walking  among  the 
great  piles  of  cheeses.  There  were  all  kinds 
and  shapes  and  sizes,  —  cheeses  that  looked  like 
great  red  balls,  yellow  cheeses,  white  cheeses, 
green  cheeses,  flat,  round,  square  and  all  sizes. 

"  I  didn't  suppose  there  were  as  many 
cheeses  in  the  world,"  said  Theodore,  looking 
around  him.  £C  And  the  wagons,  too,  aren't 
they  fine ;  they  look  as  gay  as  circus  wagons." 

And  so  they  did,  for  they  were  painted 
every  colour  under  the  sun  ;  some  of  them 
even  had  flowers  painted  upon  them  ;  and 
they  were  all  shapes,  too  ;  some  were  curved 
like  shells,  and  others  looked  not  unlike  a  boat 
on  wheels. 

"  Let  us  see  what  is  going  on  over  there, 
where  there  is  such  a  crowd  of  people,"  said 


Where  the  Cheeses  Come  from     95 

Pieter,  as  he  led  the  way  to  the  other  side  of 
the  square. 

Here  was  the  Weighing-House,  where  the 
cheeses  were  being  weighed  on  funny  old-fash- 
ioned scales,  which  looked  as  though  they  had 
been  in  use  hundreds  of  years.  The  buyers, 
too,  were  testing  the  cheeses.  They  would 
taste  a  cheese  and  cut  a  small  plug  out  of  it  to 
see  if  it  were  of  good  quality,  and  then  they 
would  put  the  plug  back  in  place  again,  when 
the  cheese,  to  all  appearances,  looked  as  it  did 
before. 

The  bargaining  over  the  cheeses  took  a  long 
time,  for  the  farmers  are  very  careful  to  make 
a  good  deal  for  themselves,  and  they  will  not 
be  hurried ;  and  generally,  when  they  are  on 
their  way  home  again,  they  look  very  well  sat- 
isfied with  themselves,  and  as  contented  as  the 
portly  Vrouw  sitting  beside  them,  or  the 
"  kinder,"  as  they  call  the  children,  playing 
about  in  the  bottom   of  the  wagon. 


96        Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

"  I  don't  suppose  you  boys  have  given  up 
eating  breakfast,"  a  voice  behind  them  said, 
and  turning  they  saw  Mynheer  Joost. 

"  Wilhelmina  and  I  have  already  had  ours, 
so  hurry  up  with  yours,  and  then  come  down 
to  the  canal ;  we  are  going  to  see  the  cheeses 
loaded  on  to  the  boats. " 

Along  the  canal  were  drawn  up  the  boats, 
with  their  brown  sails,  and  steamers  and  barges 
and  all  kinds  of  craft.  When  the  boys  ap- 
peared again,  they  all  stopped  to  watch  a 
pile  of  round,  red  cheeses  which  were  piled  up 
like  shot,  ready  to  be  loaded. 

A  man  picked  one  up  in  either  hand  and 
tossed  them  to  another  man,  who  was  standing 
beside  the  ship's  hatch  ;  and  he,  in  turn,  tossed 
them  to  another  who  was  down  in  the  hold 
and  who  was  stacking  them  up  in  neat  rows. 

"  I'd  like  to  play  that  kind  of  ball ;  it  looks 
as  easy  as  can  be,"  said  Pieter. 

"  It's   not  as  easy  as   you  think,"   said  his 


Where  the  Cheeses  Come  from     97 

father  ;  "just  pick  up  one  of  these  cheeses,  and 
try  its  weight." 

Pieter  tried  and  so  did  Theodore ;  but  they 
thought  better  of  it  as  a  game,  and  the  cheese 
man  himself  laughed  at  their  unsuccessful  ef- 
forts to  grasp  a  cheese  in  one  hand. 

"  Just  look  at  our  hands,"  exclaimed  Theo- 
dore, after  they  had  finished  handling  the 
cheeses  ;  "  they  are  quite  red." 

"  That  is  the  red  colouring  matter  which  is 
put  on  the  outside  to  preserve  them,"  said 
Mynheer. 

"  Now  we  will  take  a  walk  around  the  town, 
and  then  make  our  way  back  to  Amsterdam," 
said  Mynheer  Joost;  "and  we  will  stop  by 
the  way  at  Edam,  and  you  can  see  the  little 
town  which  gives  the  name  to  these  red 
cheeses." 

During  the  dinner  at  Edam,  a  happy  idea 
struck  Mynheer  Joost.  "  Children,"  he  said, 
"  how  would   you    like   to    have    a    ri  ie  in   a 


98        Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

c  trekschuit,'  or  passenger  barge  ?  There  is 
one  leaving  here  for  Volendam  in  half  an  hour, 
the  landlord  of  the  inn  tells  me,  and  if  you  are 
ready,  we  will  go  out  and  hunt  it  up." 

"  Oh,  that  will  be  great  fun/'  cried  the  twins 
in  one  breath. 

There  are  few  of  these  old-time  conveyances 
left  in  Holland,  and  it  was  as  much  a  novelty 
for  them  as  for  Theodore. 

You  will  see  from  the  picture  what  an  odd 
sort  of  a  passenger  craft  the  "  trekschuit "  really 
is.  There  is  one  man  pulling  it,  while  another 
walks  behind  and  steers  it  by  the  big  tiller, 
which  he  handles  from  the  shore  in  the  same 
manner  that  he  would  if  he  were  on  board. 

The  children  stood  in  the  bows  among  the 
big  brass  milk-cans  and  butter  baskets  of  the 
market-women,  and  said  they  knew  just  how 
comfortable  the  fat  Dutchmen  feel,  as  they  sit 
on  their  cc  tjalks,"  and  let  their  women  and 
children  draw  them  about. 


11  THE    CHILDREN    STOOD    IN    THE    BOWS 


Where  the  Cheeses  Come  from     99 

The  next  day  found  our  little  friends  home 
again,  planning  other  good  times. 

Soon  the  time  came,  however,  when  Theo- 
dore must  leave  his  Dutch  cousins  and  go  back 
to  America.  The  twins  were  nearly  broken- 
hearted at  the  very  idea  of  it ;  for  they  had 
become  as  fond  of  Theodore  as  if  he  were  a 
brother.  Wilhelmina  wept,  and  said  she  didn't 
see  why  Theodore  could  not  stay  for  St.  Nicho- 
las ;  and  Pieter  himself  had  to  wink  hard  to 
keep  back  the  tears. 

But  Theodore  consoled  them  by  telling  them 
that  he  would  come  again  and  spend  a  winter 
with  them,  so  as  to  see  a  real  Dutch  Christmas, 
which,  strange  to  say,  is  celebrated  on  the  feast 
of  good  St.  Nicholas,  which  comes  on  the  sixth 
of  December.  Then  they  would  have  skating 
and  all  kinds  of  winter  sports  together,  which, 
to  tell  the  truth,  are  the  favourite  amusements 
of  our  little  Dutch  cousins. 

THE    END. 


THE  LITTLE  COUSIN  SERIES 


The  most  delightful  and  interesting  accounts  possible 
of  child  life  in  other  lands,  filled  with  quaint  sayings, 
doings,  and  adventures. 

Each  one  vol.,  1 2mo,  decorative  cover,  cloth,  with  six  or  more 
full-page  illustrations  in  color. 

Price  per  volume $0.60 

By    MARY     HAZELTON     WADE     {unless    otherwise 
indicated) 


Our  Little  African  Cousin 

Our  Little  Alaskan  Cousin 

By  Mary  F.  Nixon  -  Roulet 

Our  Little  Arabian  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McManus 

Our  Little  Armenian  Cousin 
Our  Little  Brown  Cousin 

Our  Little  Canadian  Cousin 

By  Elizabeth  R.  Macdonald 

Our  Little  Chinese  Cousin 

By  Isaac  Taylor  Headland 

Our  Little  Cuban  Cousin 

Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McManus 

Our  Little  English  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McManus 

Our  Little  Eskimo  Cousin 

Our  Little  French  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McManus 

Our  Little  German  Cousin 
Our  Little  Hawaiian  Cousin 

Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McManus 

Our  Little  Indian  Cousin 


Our  Little  Irish  Cousin 
Our  Little  Italian  Cousin 
Our  Little  Japanese  Cousin 
Our  Little  Jewish  Cousin 

Our  Little  Korean  Cousin 

By  H.  Lee  M.  Pike 

Our  Little  Mexican  Cousin 

By  Edward  C.  Butler 

Our  Little  Norwegian  Cousin 

Our  Little  Panama  Cousin 

By  H.  Lee  M.  Pike 

Our  Little  Philippine  Cousin 
Our  Little  Porto  Rican  Cousin 
Our  Little  Russian  Cousin 

Our  Little  Scotch  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McMamr 

Our  Little  Siamese  Cousin 

Our  Little  Spanish  Cousin 

By  Mary  F.  Nixon -Roulet 

Our  Little  Swedish  Cousin 

By  Claire  M.  Coburn 

Our  Little  Swiss  Cousin 
Our  Little  Turkish  Cousin 


THE  GOLDENROD  LIBRARY 


The  Goldenrod  Library  contains  stories  which  appeal 
alike  both  to  children  and  to  their  parents  and  guardians. 

Each  volume  is  well  illustrated  from  drawings  by 
competent  artists,  which,  together  with  their  handsomely 
decorated  uniform  binding,  showing  the  goldenrod, 
usually  considered  the  emblem  of  America,  is  a  feature 
of  their  manufacture. 

Each  one  volume,  small  i2mo,  illustrated         .         .    $0.35 


LIST  OF  TITLES 

Aunt  Nabby's  Children.     By  Frances  Hodges  White. 

Child's  Dream  of  a  Star,  The.    By  Charles  Dickens. 

Flight  of  Rosy  Dawn,  The.    By  Pauline  Bradford  Mackie. 

Findelkind.     By  Ouida. 

Fairy  of  the  Rhone,  The.    By  A.  Comyns  Carr. 

Gatty  and  I.     By  Frances  E.  Crompton. 

Helena's  Wonderworld.     By  Frances  Hodges  White. 

Jerry's  Reward.     By  Evelyn  Snead  Barnett. 

La  Belle  Nivernaise.    By  Alphonse  Daudet. 

Little  King  Davie.     By  Nellie  Hellis. 

Little  Peterkin  Vandike.    By  Charles  Stuart  Pratt. 

Little  Professor,  The.     By  Ida  Horton  Cash. 

Peggy's  Trial.     By  Mary  Knight  Potter. 

Prince  Yellowtop.     By  Kate  Whiting  Patch. 

Provence  Rose,  A.    By  Ouida. 

Seventh  Daughter,  A.     By  Grace  Wickham  Curran. 

Sleeping  Beauty,  The.     By  Martha  Baker  Dunn. 

Small,  Small  Child,  A.     By  E.  Livingston  Prescott. 

Susanne.     By  Frances  J.  Delano. 

Water  People,  The.     By  Charles  Lee  Sleight. 

Young  Archer,  The.     By  Charles  E.  Brimblecom. 


COSY  CORNER  SERIES 

It  is  the  intention  of  the  publishers  that  this  series  shall 
contain  only  the  very  highest  and  purest  literature, — 
stories  that  shall  not  only  appeal  to  the  children  them- 
selves, but  be  appreciated  by  all  those  who  feel  with 
them  in  their  joys  and  sorrows. 

The  numerous  illustrations  in  each  book  are  by  well- 
known  artists,  and  each  volume  has  a  separate  attrac- 
tive cover  design. 

Each  i  vol.,  i6mo,  cloth  ....         $0.50 

By  ANNIE  FELLOWS  JOHNSTON 

The  Little  Colonel.       (Trade  Mark.) 

The  scene  of  this  story  is  laid  in  Kentucky.  Its  hero- 
ine is  a  small  girl,  who  is  known  as  the  Little  Colonel, 
on  account  of  her  fancied  resemblance  to  an  old-school 
Southern  gentleman,  whose  fine  estate  and  old  family 
are  famous  in  the  region. 

The  Giant  Scissors. 

This  is  the  story  of  Joyce  and  of  her  adventures 
in  France.  Joyce  is  a  great  friend  of  the  Little  Colonel, 
and  in  later  volumes  shares  with  her  the  delightful  ex- 
periences of  the  "  House  Party  "  and  the  "  Holidays." 

Two  Little  Knights  of  Kentucky. 

Who  Were  the  Little  Colonel's  Neighbors. 

In  this  volume  the  Little  Colonel  returns  to  us  like  an 
old  friend,  but  with  added  grace  and  charm.  She  is 
not,  however,  the  central  figure  of  the  story,  that  place 
being  taken  by  the  "  two  little  knights." 

Mildred's  Inheritance. 

A  delightful  little  story  of  a  lonely  English  girl  who 
comes  to  America  and  is  befriended  by  a  sympathetic 
American  family  who  are  attracted  by  her  beautiful 
speaking  voice.  By  means  of  this  one  gift  she  is  en- 
abled to  help  a  school-girl  who  has  temporarily  lost  the 
use  of  her  eyes,  and  thus  finally  her  life  becomes  a  busy 
happy  one. 


L.  C.  PAGE  AND  COMPANY'S 


By  ANNTE  FELLOWS  JOHNSTON  {Continued} 

Cicely  and  Other  Stories  for  Girls. 

The  readers  of  Mrs.  Johnston's  charming  juvenile! 
will  be  glad  to  learn  of  the  issue  of  this  volume  for 
young  people. 

Aunt  'Liza's  Hero  and  Other  Stories. 

A  collection  of  six  bright  little  stories,  which  will 
appeal  to  all  boys  and  most  girls. 

Big  Brother. 

A  story  of  two  boys.  The  devotion  and  care  of 
Steven,  himself  a  small  boy,  for  his  baby  brother,  is  the 
theme  of  the  simple  tale. 

Ole  Mammy's  Torment. 

"Ole  Mammy's  Torment"  has  been  fitly  called  "a 
classic  of  Southern  life."  It  relates  the  haps  and  mis- 
haps of  a  small  negro  lad,  and  tells  how  he  was  led  by 
love  and  kindness  to  a  knowledge  of  the  right. 

The  Story  of  Dago. 

In  this  story  Mrs.  Johnston  relates  the  story  of  Dago, 
a  pet  monkey,  owned  jointly  by  two  brothers.  Dago 
tells  his  own  story,  and  the  account  of  his  haps  and  mis- 
haps is  both  interesting  and  amusing. 

The  Quilt  That  Jack  Built. 

A  pleasant  little  story  of  a  boy's  labor  of  love,  and 
how  it  changed  the  course  of  his  life  many  years  after 
it  was  accomplished. 

Flip's  Islands  of  Providence. 

A  story  of  a  boy's  life  battle,  his  early  defeat,  and  hid 
final  triumph,  well  worth  the  reading. 


COSY  CORNER  SERIES 


By  EDITH  ROBINSON 

A  Little  Puritan's  First  Christmas. 

A  Story  of  Colonial  times  in  Boston,  telling  how 
Christmas  was  invented  by  Betty  Sewall,  a  typical  child 
of  the  Puritans,  aided  by  her  brother  Sam. 

A  Little  Daughter  of  Liberty. 

The  author  introduces  this  story  as  follows : 
"  One  ride  is  memorable  in  the  early  history  of  the 
American  Revolution,  the  well-known  ride  of  Paul 
Revere.  Equally  deserving-  of  commendation  is  another 
ride,  —  the  ride  of  Anthony  Severn,  —  which  was  no  les? 
historic  in  its  action  or  memorable  in  its  consequences." 

A  Loyal  Little  Maid. 

A  delightful  and  interesting  story  of  Revolutionary 
days,  in  which  the  child  heroine,  Betsey  Schuyler, 
renders  important  services  to  George  Washington. 

A  Little  Puritan  Rebel. 

This  is  an  historical  tale  of  a  real  girl,  during  the 
time  when  the  gallant  Sir  Harry  Vane  was  governor  of 
Massachusetts. 

A  Little  Puritan  Pioneer. 

The  scene  of  this  story  is  laid  in  the  Puritan  settle- 
ment at  Charlestown. 

A  Little  Puritan  Bound  Girl. 

A  story  of  Boston  in  Puritan  days,  which  is  of  great 
interest  to  youthful  readers. 

A  Little  Puritan  Cavalier. 

The  story  of  a  "  Little  Puritan  Cavalier  "  who  tried 
with  all  his  boyish  enthusiasm  to  emulate  the  spirit  and 
ideals  of  the  dead  Crusaders. 

A  Puritan  Knight  Errant. 

The  story  tells  of  a  young  lad  in  Colonial  times  who 
endeavored  to  carry  out  the  high  ideals  of  the  knights 
of  olden  days. 


L.  C.   PAGE   AND   COMPANY'S 


By  OUIDA  {Louise  de  la  Ramie) 

A   Dog  Of   Flanders  :  A  Christmas  Story. 
Too  well  and  favorably  known  to  require  description. 

The  Nurnberg  Stove. 

This  beautiful  story  has  never  before  been  published 
at  a  popular  price. 

By  FRANCES  MARGARET  FOX 

The  Little  Giant's  Neighbours. 

A  charming  nature  story  of  a  "little  giant"  whos* 
neighbours  were  the  creatures  of  the  field  and  garden. 

Farmer  Brown  and  the  Birds. 

A  little  story  which  teaches  children  that  the  birds 
are  man's  best  friends. 

Betty  of  Old  Mackinaw. 

A  charming  story  of  child-life,  appealing  especially  to 
the  little  readers  who  like  stories  of  "  real  people." 

Brother  Billy. 

The  story  of  Betty's  brother,  and  some  further  ad- 
ventures  of  Betty  herself. 

Mother  Nature's  Little  Ones. 

Curious  little  sketches  describing  the  early  lifetime, 
or  "  childhood,"  of  the  little  creatures  out-of-doors. 

How  Christmas  Came  to  the  Mul- 
vaneys. 

A  bright,  lifelike  little  story  of  a  family  of  poor  chil- 
dren, with  an  unlimited  capacity  for  fun  and  mischief. 
The  wonderful  never-to-be  forgotten  Christmas  that 
came  to  them  is  the  climax  of  a  series  of  exciting  inci- 
dents. 


COSY  CORNER  SERIES 


By  MISS  MULOCK 

The  Little  Lame  Prince. 

A  delightful  story  of  a  little  boy  who  has  many  ad- 
ventures by  means  of  the  magic  gifts  of  his  fairy  god- 
mother. 

Adventures  of  a  Brownie, 

The  story  of  a  household  elf  who  torments  the  cook 
and  gardener,  but  is  a  constant  joy  and  delight  to  the 
children  who  love  and  trust  him. 

His  Little  Mother. 

Miss  Mulock's  short  stories  for  children  are  a  constant 
source  of  delight  to  them,  and  "  His  Little  Mother,"  in 
this  new  and  attractive  dress,  will  be  welcomed  by  hosts 
of  youthful  readers. 

Little  Sunshine's  Holiday. 

An  attractive  story  of  a  summer  outing.  "  Little  Sun- 
shine "  is  another  of  those  beautiful  child-characters  for 
which  Miss  Mulock  is  so  justly  famous. 

By   MARSHALL    SAUNDERS 

For  His  Country. 

A  sweet  and  graceful  story  of  a  little  boy  who  loved 
his  country  ;  written  with  that  charm  which  has  endeared 
Miss  Saunders  to  hosts  of  readers. 

Nita,  the  Story  of  an  Irish  Setter. 

In  this  touching  little  book,  Miss  Saunders  shows  how 
dear  to  her  heart  are  all  of  God's  dumb  creatures. 

Alpatok,   the  Story  of  an    Eskimo 
Dog. 

Alpatok,  an  Eskimo  dog  from  the  far  north,  was  stolen 
from  his  master  and  left  to  starve  in  a  strange  city,  but 
was  befriended  and  cared  for,  until  he  was  able  to  re- 
turn to  his  owner. 


I.  C.  PAGE  AND  COMPANY'S 


By  WILL  ALLEN  DROMGOOLE 

The  Farrier's  Dog  and  His  Fellow. 

This  story,  written  by  the  gifted  young  Southern 
woman,  will  appeal  to  all  that  is  best  in  the  natures  of 
the  many  admirers  of  her  graceful  and  piquant  style. 

The  Fortunes  of  the  Fellow. 

Those  who  read  and  enjoyed  the  pathos  and  charm 
of  "The  Farrier's  Dog  and  His  Fellow"  will  welcome 
the  further  account  of  the  adventures  of  Baydaw  and 
the  Fellow  at  the  home  of  the  kindly  smith. 

The  Best  of  Friends. 

This  continues  the  experiences  of  the  Farrier's  dog  and 
his  Fellow,  written  in  Miss  Dromgoole's  well-known 
charming  style. 

Down  in  Dixie. 

A  fascinating  story  for  boys  and  girls,  of  a  family  of 
Alabama  children  who  move  to  Florida  and  grow  up  in 
the  South. 


By  MARIAN  W.  WILDMAN 

Loyalty  Island. 

An  account  of  the  adventures  of  four  children  and 
their  pet  dog  on  an  island,  and  how  they  cleared  their 
brother  from  the  suspicion  of  dishonesty 

Theodore  and  Theodora. 

This  is  a  story  of  the  exploits  and  mishaps  of  two  mis- 
chievous twins,  and  continues  the  adventures  of  the 
interesting  group  of  children  in  "  Loyalty  Island." 


COSY  CORNER   SERIES 


By  CHARLES  G.  D.  ROBERTS 

The  Cruise  of  the  Yacht  Dido. 

The  story  of  two  boys  who  turned  their  yacht  into  a 
fishing  boat  to  earn  money  to  pay  for  a  college  course, 
and  of  their  adventures  while  exploring  in  search  of 
hidden  treasure. 

The  Young  Acadian. 

The  story  of  a  young  lad  of  Acadia  who  rescued  a 
little  English  girl  from  the  hands  of  savages. 

The  Lord  of  the  Air. 

The  Story  of  the  Eagle 

The  King  of  the  Mamozekel. 

The  Story  of  the  Moose 

The  Watchers  of  the  Camp=fire. 

The  Story  of  the  Panther 

The  Haunter  of  the  Pine  Gloom. 

The  Story  of  the  Lynx 

The  Return  to  the  Trails. 

The  Story  of  the  Bear 

The  Little  People  of  the  Sycamore, 

The  Story  of  the  Raccoon 

By  OTHER  AUTHORS 

The  Great  Scoop. 

By  MOLL  Y  ELLIOT  SEA  WELL 

A  capital  tale  of  newspaper  life  in  a  big  city,  and 
of  a  bright,  enterprising,  likable  youngster  employed 
thereon. 

John  Whopper. 

The  late  Bishop  Clark's  popular  story  of  the  boy  who 
fell  through  the  earth  and  came  out  in  China,  with  a 
new  introduction  by  Bishop  Potter. 


L.   C.   PAGE   AND   COMPANY 


The  Dole  Twins. 

By  KATE  UPSON  CLARK 

The  adventures  of  two  little  people  who  tried  to  earn 
money  to  buy  crutches  for  a  lame  aunt.  An  excellent 
description  of  child-life  about  1812,  which  will  greatly 
interest  and  amuse  the  children  of  to-day,  whose  life  is 
widely  different. 

Larry  Hudson's  Ambition. 

By  JAMES  OTIS,  author  of  "Toby Tyler,"  etc. 

Larry  Hudson  is  a  typical  American  boy,  whose  hard 
work  and  enterprise  gain  him  his  ambition,  —  an  educa- 
tion and  a  start  in  the  world. 

The  Little  Christmas  Shoe. 

By  JANE  P.  SCOTT  WOODRUFF 
A  touching  story  of  Yule-tide. 

Wee  Dorothy. 

By  LAURA   UPDEGRAFF 

A  story  of  two  orphan  children,  the  tender  devotion 
of  the  eldest,  a  boy,  for  his  sister  being  its  theme  and 
setting.  With  a  bit  of  sadness  at  the  beginning,  the 
story  is  otherwise  bright  and  sunny,  and  altogether 
wholesome  in  every  way. 

The  King  of  the  Golden   River:    a 

Legend  of  Stiria.     By  JOHN RUSK  IN 
Written  fifty  years  or  more   ago,   and  not  originally 
intended  for  publication,  this  little  fairy-tale  soon  be- 
came known  and  made  a  place  for  itself. 

A  Child's  Garden  of  Verses. 

By  L.  R.  STEVENSON 

Mr.  Stevenson's  little  volume  is  too  well  known  to 
need  description. 


BOOKS  FOR  YOUNG  PEOPLE 
THE  LITTLE  COLONEL  BOOKS 

(Trade  Mark) 

By  ANNIE  FELLOWS  JOHNSTON 
Each  i  vol.,  large  i2mo,  cloth  decorative,  per  voi    $1  50 

The  Little  Colonel  Stories. 

(Trade  Mark) 

Illustrated. 

Being  three  "  Little  Colonel "  stories  in  the  Cosy 
Corner  Series,  "  The  Little  Colonel,"  "  Two  Little  Knights 
of  Kentucky,"  and  "  The  Giant  Scissors,"  put  into  a 
single  volume. 

The  Little  Colonel's  House  Party. 

(Trade  Mark) 

Illustrated  by  Louis  Meynell. 

The  Little  Colonel's  Holidays. 

(Trade  Mark) 

Illustrated  by  L.  J.  Bridgman. 

The  Little  Colonel's  Hero. 

(Trade  Mark) 

Illustrated  by  E.  B.  Barry. 

The    Little    Colonel    at    Boarding 

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School. 

Illustrated  by  E.  B.  Barry. 

The  Little  Colonel  in  Arizona. 

(Trade  Mark) 

Illustrated  by  E.  B.  Barry. 

The  Little  Colonel's  Christmas  Va- 

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cation. 

Tllustrated  by  E.  B.  Barry. 

The  Little  Colonel,  Maid  of  Honour. 

(Trade  Mark) 

Illustrated  by  E.  B.  Barry. 


L.    C.  PAGE  AATD   CO  MP  A  NTS 


The  Little  Colonel. 

(Trade  Mark) 

Two  Little  Knights  of  Kentucky. 
The  Giant  Scissors. 
Big  Brother. 

Special  Holiday  Editions 
Each  one  volume,  cloth  decorative,  small  quarto,  $1.25. 
New  plates,    handsomely  illustrated,  with    eight  full- 
page  drawings  in  color. 

u  The  books  are  as  satisfactory  to  the  small  girls,  who  find 
them  adorable,  as  for  the  mothers  and  librarians,  who  delight 
in  their  influence."  —  Christian  Register. 

These  four  volumes,  boxed  as  a  four  volume  set      .     $5.00 

In  the  Desert  of  Waiting:  the  legend 

of  Camelback  Mountain. 

The  Three  Weavers :  a  fairy  tale  for 

Fathers  and  Mothers  as  Well  as  for  Their 
Daughters. 

Keeping  Tryst. 

The  Legend  of  the  Bleeding  Heart. 

Each  one  volume,  tall  i6mo,  cloth  decorative  .     $0.50 

Paper  boards 35 

There  has  been  a  constant  demand  for  publication 
in  separate  form  of  these  four  stories,  which  were  orig- 
inally included  in  four  of  the  "  Little  Colonel  "  books. 

Joel:  A  Boy  of  Galilee.     By  Annie  fel 

lows  Johnston.     Illustrated  by  L.  J.  Bridgman. 
New  illustrated  edition,  uniform  with  the  Little  Colonel 
Books,  1  vol.,  large  i2mo,  cloth  decorative       .     $1.50 
A  story  of  the  time  of  Christ,  which  is  one  of  the 
author's  best-known  books. 


BOOKS  FOR    YOUNG  PEOPLE 


Asa  Holmes  j  or,  at  the  cross-roads,    a 

sketch    of    Country  Life  and   Country  Humor.       By 
Annie  Fellows  Johnston.     With  a  frontispiece  by 
Ernest  Fosbery. 
Large  i6mo,  cloth,  gilt  top  .         .         .         $1.00 

"'Asa  Holmes;  or,  At  the  Cross-Roads'  is  the  most  de- 
lightful, most  sympathetic  and  wholesome  book  that  has  been 
published  in  a  long  while."  —  Boston  Times. 

The  Rival  Campers;  or,  the  adventures 

of  Henry  Burns.     By  Ruel  Perley  Smith. 
Square  121110,  cloth  decorative,  illustrated    .         $1.50 

Here  is  a  book  which  will  grip  and  enthuse  every  boy  reader. 
It  is  the  story  of  a  party  of  typical  American  lads,  coura- 
geous, alert,  and  athletic,  who  spend  a  summer  camping  on  an 
island  off  the  Maine  coast. 

"The  best  boys'  book  since  '  Tom  Sawyer."'  —  San  Fran- 
cisco Examiner. 

The  Rival  Campers  Afloat;    or,  the 

Prize  Yacht  Viking.  By  Ruel  Perley  Smith. 
Square  i2mo,  cloth  decorative,  illustrated  .  $1.50 
This  book  is  a  continuation  of  the  adventures  of  "  The 
Rival  Campers  "  on  their  prize  yacht  Viking.  An  accidental 
collision  results  in  a  series  of  exciting  adventures,  culminat- 
ing in  a  mysterious  chase,  the  loss  of  their  prize  yacht,  and 
its  recapture  by  means  of  their  old  yacht,  Surprise. 

The  Rival  Campers  Ashore.    By  ruel 

Perley  Smith,  author   of   "  The  Rival    Campers," 

»  The  Rival  Campers  Afloat,"  etc. 

Square  i2mo,  cloth  decorative,  illustrated    .         $1.50 

"The  Rival  Campers  Ashore  "  deals  with  the  adventures 
of  the  campers  and  their  friends  in  and  around  the  town  of 
Benton.  Mr.  Smith  introduces  a  new  character, —  a  girl, — 
who  shows  them  the  way  to  an  old  mill,  around  which  the 
mystery  of  the  story  revolves.  The  girl  is  an  admirable  ac- 
quisition, proving  as  daring  and  resourceful  as  the  camper* 
themselves. 


L.  C.  PAGE   AND   COMPANY'S 


The  Young  Section-Hand ;  or,  the  ad- 
ventures of  Allan  West.    By  Burton  E.  Ste- 
venson, author  of  "  The  Marathon  Mystery,"  etc. 
Square  i2mo,  cloth   decorative,  illustrated   by  L.  J. 

Bridgman $i-5o 

Mr.  Stevenson's  hero  is  a  manly  lad  of  sixteen,  who  is  given 
a  chance  as  a  section-hand  on  a  big  Western  railroad,  and 
whose  experiences  are  as  real  as  they  are  thrilling. 

The  Young  Train  Dispatcher.  By  bur- 
ton E.  Stevenson,  author  of  "  The  Young  Section- 
hand,"  etc. 
Square  i2mo,  cloth  decorative,  illustrated    .         $1-50 

The  young  hero  has  many  chances  to  prove  his  manliness 
and  courage  in  the  exciting  adventures  which  befall  him  in  the 
discharge  of  his  duty. 

Captain  Jack  Lorimer.    By  winn  stan- 

DISH. 

Square  i2mo,  cloth  decorative,  illustrated  by  A.  B. 
Shute $1.50 

Jack  is  a  fine  example  of  the  all-around  American  high- 
school  boy.  He  has  the  sturdy  qualities  boys  admire,  and 
his  fondness  for  clean,  honest  sport  of  all  kinds  will  strike  a 
chord  of  sympathy  among  athletic  youths. 

Jack  Lorimer's  Champions;  or,  sports 

on  Land  and  Lake.     By  Winn  Standish,  author  of 

"  Captain  Jack  Lorimer,"  etc. 

Square  i2mo,  cloth  decorative,  illustrated  $i-5o 

All  boys  and  girls  who  take  an  interest  in  school  athletics 
will  wish  to  read  of  the  exploits  of  the  Millvale  High  School 
students,  under  the  leadership  of  Captain  Jack  Lorimer. 

Captain  Jack's  Champions  play  quite  as  good  ball  as  do 
some  of  the  teams  on  the  large  leagues,  and  they  put  all 
opponents  to  good  hard  work  in  other  summer  sports. 

Jack  Lorimer  and  his  friends  stand  out  as  the  finest  ex- 
amples of  all-round  American  high  school  boys  and  girls. 


BOOKS  FOR    YOUNG  PEOPLE 


Beautiful  Joe's  Paradise ;  or,  the  island 

of  Brotherly  Love.  A  sequel  to  "  Beautiful  Joe." 
By  Marshall  Saunders,  author  of  "  Beautiful  Joe." 
One  vol.,  library  i2mo,  cloth,  illustrated      .         $1.50 

"  This  book  revives  the  spirit  of  '  Beautiful  Joe  '  capitally. 
It  is  fairly  riotous  with  fun,  and  as  a  whole  is  about  as  unusual 
as  anything  in  the  animal  book  line  that  has  seen  the  light.  It 
is  a  book  for  j  uveniles  —  old  and  young. " —  Philadelphia  Item. 

'Tilda  Jane.      By  Marshall  Saunders. 

One  vol.,  i2mo,  fully  illustrated,  cloth  decorative,  $1.50 

"  It  is  one  of  those  exquisitely  simple  and  truthful  books 
that  win  and  charm  the  reader,  and  I  did  not  put  it  down 
until  I  had  finished  it  —  honest!  And  I  am  sure  that  every 
one,  young  or  old,  who  reads  will  be  proud  and  happy  to 
make  the  acquaintance  of  the  delicious  waif. 

"  I  cannot  think  of  any  better  book  for  children  than  this. 
I  commend  it  unreservedly." —  Cyrus  Townsend  Brady. 

The  Story  of  the  Qraveleys.  By  mar- 
shall  Saunders,  author  of  "  Beautiful  Joe's  Para 
dise,"  "  'Tilda  Jane,"  etc. 

Library  i2mo,  cloth  decorative,  illustrated  by  E.  B. 
Barry $1.50 

Here  we  have  the  haps  and  mishaps,  the  trials  and  triumphs, 
of  a  delightful  New  England  family,  of  whose  devotion  and 
sturdhiess  it  will  do  the  reader  good  to  hear. 

Bom  to  the  Blue.      By  Florence  Kimball 
Russel. 
i2mo,  cloth  decorative,  illustrated        .         .         $1.25 

The  atmosphere  of  army  life  on  the  plains  breathes  on 
every  page  of  this  delightful  tale.  The  boy  is  the  son  of  a 
captain  of  U.  S.  cavalry  stationed  at  a  frontier  post  in  the 
days  when  our  regulars  earned  the  gratitude  of  a  nation. 


L.  C.  PAGE    AND    COMPANY'S 


In  West  Point  Gray.      By  Florence  Kim 

BALL    RUSSEL. 

121X10,  cloth  decorative,  illustrated        .         .         $1.25 
West  Point  forms  the  background  for  the  second  volume 

in  this  series,  and  gives  us  the  adventures  of  Jack  as  a  cadet. 

Here  the  training  of  his  childhood  days  in  the  frontier  army 

post  stands  him  in  good  stead ;  and  he  quickly  becomes  the 

central  figure  of  the  West  Point  life. 

The  Sandman :   His  Farm   Stories. 

By  William  J.  Hopkins.     With  fifty  illustrations  by 

Ada  Clendenin  Williamson. 

Large  i2mo,  decorative  cover      .         .         .         $1.50 

"  An  amusing,  original  book,  written  for  the  benefit  of  very 
small  children.  It  should  be  one  of  the  most  popular  of  the 
year's  books  for  reading  to  small  children." — Buffalo  Ex- 
press. 

The  Sandman :  More  Farm  Stories. 

By  William  J.  Hopkins. 

Large  i2mo,  decorative  cover,  fully  illustrated     $1.50 

Mr.  Hopkins's  first  essay  at  bedtime  stories  met  with  such 
approval  that  this  second  book  of  "  Sandman  "  tales  was 
issued  for  scores  of  eager  children.  Life  on  the  farm,  and 
out-of-doors,  is  portrayed  in  his  inimitable  manner. 

The    Sandman:   His    Ship  Stories. 

By  William  J.  Hopkins,  author  of  "  The  Sandman  : 

His   Farm    Stories,"    etc. 

Large  i2mo,  decorative  cover,  fully  illustrated    $1.50 

"  Mothers  and  fathers  and  kind  elder  sisters  who  put  the 
little  ones  to  bed,  and  rack  their  brains  for  stories,  will  find 
this  book  a  treasure."  —  Cleveland  Leader. 

"  Children  call  for  these  stories  over  and  over  again," — 
Chicago  Evening  Post. 


BOOK'S  FOR    YOUNG  PEOPLE 


Pussy-Cat  Town.     By  Marion  Ames  tag- 

GART, 

Small  quarto,  cloth  decorative,  illustrated  and  deco- 
rated in  colors      $1.00 

"  Pussy-Cat  Town  "  is  a  most  unusual  delightful  cat  story. 
Ban-Ban,  a  pure  Maltese  who  belonged  to  Rob,  Kiku-san, 
Lois's  beautiful  snow-white  pet,  and  their  neighbors  Bedelia 
the  tortoise-shell.  Madame  Laura  the  widow,  Wutz  Butz  the 
warrior,  and  wise  old  Tommy  Traddles,  were  really  and  truly 
cats. 

The  Roses  of  Saint  Elizabeth.    By  jane 

Scott  Woodruff,  author  of  "  The  Little  Christmas 
Shoe" 

Small  quarto,  cloth  decorative,  illustrated  and  deco- 
rated in  colors  by  Adelaide  Everhart        .         $1.00 

This  is  a  charming  little  story  of  a  child  whose  father  was 
caretaker  of  the  great  castle  of  the  Wartburg,  where  Saint 
Elizabeth  once  had  her  home. 

Gabriel  and  the  Hour  Book.    ByEvA- 

leen  Stein. 

Small  quarto,  cloth  decorative,  illustrated  and  deco- 
rated in  colors  by  Adelaide  Everhart        .         $1.00 

Gabriel  was  a  loving,  patient,  little  French  lad,  who  assisted 
the  monks  in  the  long  ago  days,  when  all  the  books  were 
written  and  illuminated  by  hand,  in  the  monasteries. 

The    Enchanted    Automobile.    Trans 

lated  from  the  French  by  Mary  J.  Safford. 
Small  quarto,  cloth  decorative,  illustrated  and  deco- 
rated in  colors  by  Edna  M.  Sawyer      .         .         $1.00 

The  enchanted  automobile  was  sent  by  the  fairy  god- 
mother of  a  lazy,  discontented  little  prince  and  princess  to 
take  them  to  fairyland,  where  they  might  visit  their  story 
book  favorites. 


L.  C.  PAGE   AN*.    COMPANY'S 


The  Red  Feathers.   By  Theodore  Roberts, 
author  of  "  Brothers  of  Peril,"  etc. 
Cloth  decorative,  illustrated  .         .         .         $1.50 

"  The  Red  Feathers"  tells  of  the  remarkable  adventures  of 
an  Indian  boy  who  lived  in  the  Stone  Age,  many  years  ago, 
when  the  world  was  young,  and  when  fairies  and  magicians 
did  wonderful  things  for  their  friends  and  enemies. 

The  Wreck  of  the  Ocean  Queen.    By 

James  Otis,  author  of  "  Larry  Hudson's  Ambition," 

etc. 

Cloth  decorative,  illustrated  .         .         .         $1.50 

This  story  takes  its  readers  on  a  sea  voyage  around  the 
world  ;  gives  them  a  trip  on  a  treasure  ship  ;  an  exciting  ex- 
perience in  a  terrific  gale ;  and  finally  a  shipwreck,  with  a 
mutineering  crew  determined  to  take  the  treasure  to  compli- 
cate matters. 

But  only  the  mutineers  will  come  to  serious  harm,  and 
after  the  reader  has  known  the  thrilling  excitement  of  lack  of 
food  and  water,  of  attacks  by  night  and  day,  and  of  a  hand-to- 
hand  fight,  he  is  rescued  and  Drought  safely  home  again,— 
to  realize  that  it's  only  a  story,  but  a  stirring  and  realistic 
one. 

Little  White  Indians.     By  Fannie   e. 

OSTRANDER. 

Cloth  decorative,  illustrated         .         .         .         $1.25 

The  "  Little  White  Indians  "  were  two  families  of  children 
who  "  played  Indian  "  all  one  long  summer  vacation.  They 
built  wigwams  and  made  camps  ;  they  went  hunting  and 
fought  fierce  battles  on  the  war-trail. 

A  bright,  interesting  story  which  will  appeal  strongly  to 
the  "  make-believe  "  instinct  in  children,  and  will  give  them  a 
healthy,  active  interest  in  "  the  simple  life." 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


PRESENTED  BY 

Elizabeth  Preston  Ward 
in  memory  of 

Jean  Versf elt  Preston 

School  of  ■■ 

HAY  1 1  20QT 


-     : 


